Wake Me Up When September Ends
by MJLS
Summary: The innocent can never last Rogue/Pyro
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : **I don't own X-Men

**Rating : **T

**Pairing : **Rogue/Pyro

**Extra Note : **_Sublime Angel, _is my amazing beta and muse for this story. This is not a songfic, although part of the lyrics are posted after every chapter. for more information about this story, please see my profile page

**Reviews : **make me smile and I cannot lie

**Summary : **The innocent can never last...(Rogue/Pyro)

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**Chapter 1 **

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Rogue sat on the small bed in the middle of the not much bigger apartment. It was small, the wallpaper was hanging loose in some places, and Rogue was pretty sure she had seen a rat the first day. But it was their home. It wasn't a rich mansion with thousands of bathrooms and the equal amount of bedrooms for guests to stay in. It wasn't the most comfortable water bed that they could get either. The furniture wasn't inlaid with gold filigree. It was all old-fashioned, probably from the 18th or 19th century, and worn out from years of usage and being passed down the generations , but it gave the apartment a comfortable feeling. Just like it should. Her eyes took in his sleeping form next to her own. 

His muscular chest rose up and down, letting her know that he was still in a deep peaceful slumber, something she wouldn't dare to disturb him from, considering what times were like. His chest was scarred from all the battles he'd been through as part of the Brotherhood. And he still was, which was something that made Rogue even more afraid for him than she already was, every time he was sent on a new mission.

She knew the risks of being in the Brotherhood; the odds were greater that you would get wounded, shot, or even killed. But John had always assured her that he would be fine, that he knew what he was doing. And while Rogue believed him, with her whole heart, she just couldn't stop worrying about those things.

The regular sound of gunshots going off right outside, made, her live her life with an edge of fear every day. Fear that one day, a bullet would miss its target and reach an innocent bystander or someone just passing by. Of course their apartment wasn't in the safest part of the city; it was a crime ridden area, filled with criminals and outcasts, like Marie and John themselves.

John didn't drink. But that was only because he'd already turned sober. And it wasn't just not because of Marie alone. It had slowly been killing him inside. But the after effects of being an alcoholic were still inside of him.

He suffered from depression every now and then, and Rogue was always worried, knowing that he had once been on the edge of committing suicide, John kept telling her that now that she was in his life, he had a purpose to live for, but Rogue knew how depressions worked, she herself having suffered from some serious ones of her own when she had just arrived at the mansion. John knew all of this but still preferred to be left alone during such dark periods of his life, even though that – according to Rogue – was not such a great idea.

Her long fingers were still decorated with the elbow length fingerless gloves. A small silver band adorned her finger, but it was hidden by the black fabric of her gloves which she still insisted on wearing even though she now had full control over her powers. Her explanation would always be, "Because they look good on this outfit," which usually made John laugh and shake his head before giving her a loving peck on the lips.

As carefully as she could, Rogue whipped some of his blond-brown hair out of his closed eyes while trying not to wake him up. God knows how much he needed his sleep at a time like this but she couldn't help it.

She suffered from insomnia. It wasn't often but just during times like these, when the war between the mutants and humans was raging even worse than before, so she couldn't help but worry to the point that it caused her to lose the will to sleep. Worry that they would be found in this small apartment at the edge of the city. Worry that they would be attacked in the middle of the night because they were mutants.

Pyro muttered something under his breath and turned his head away from her touch, still keeping his position on his back. Rogue smiled tiredly at him and planted a soft kiss on his cheek before she carefully slid out of the small but warm bed. Her feet touched the wooden floor, which was rather well kept, unlike other parts of the apartment. There was a guitar on the other side of the room, right next to the drawer. Rogue smiled and walked out of the bedroom, leaving Pyro in his peaceful slumber as she had a sudden craving for a cup of coffee.

Looking through the cupboards, Rogue found herself one of the usual cups they used for coffee, not that they had a lot of cups anyway. The grey cup was soon filled with the hot, steaming liquid. Rogue turned around, leaning her back against the wooden counter of their small kitchen. It was probably even smaller than their bedroom, but neither of them were home that much to cook in it every day anyway. They had most of their meals at the Brotherhood's base, where they spent most of their time during the day.

Rogue taught the newer recruits in their very own danger room, how to ensure that they wouldn't be killed in their first battle and how to use their powers to protect themselves. Pyro on the other hand, was skilled at hand-to-hand combat, and was therefore an excellent teacher in that area. He teamed up with Mystique to teach the mutants how to protect themselves, in case they were hit by the cure, whether it was accidental or because of an ambush. Rogue smiled sadly to herself. Seeing those younger mutants being touched by the elements of war and hate towards them made her heart ache from time to time.

While placing her empty coffee cup in the small sink, she felt a pair of bare, but muscular arms wrap around her tiny, thin waist. A knowing smile crept up onto her lips as Pyro planted a soft kiss in on her neck, making his way up to her cheek, and then finally ending on her lips as she had turned around in his arms before he reached them.

"Found you," he smirked as their foreheads touched and their eyes met each others gaze.

Shouting could be heard in the background. Probably someone being robbed again. It was quite a common occurrence during the day now, and in the night as well, in the area they lived.

"Oh no, now I'll have to find a better hiding place!" Marie smirked back before she placed a small peck on his lips and got out of his loose grip around her hips.

Pyro chuckled and turned around so that he was leaning against the counter while Rogue chose to go sit on the small table in front of him. While Rogue's eyes carefully watched him and monitored every move he made, Pyro grabbed his own cup and filled it with coffee before facing her again.

"You have a new mission don't you?" Rogue asked sadly, the emotion visible in her eyes as she looked John straight in the eye.

He looked shocked at first, briefly wondering how she could have possibly found out about the new mission that was in a couple of days. He had planned on telling her one of these days for sure, he'd just been waiting for the opportune moment.

"Your mood always changes days before a new mission. You sleep more and you're quieter, and you keep more to yourself," Rogue quickly added to her former sentence.

Seeing his shocked expression made her smile apologetically. John sighed sadly and nodded, his eyes closed as he didn't trust his voice nor his eyes. They showed too much emotion when she was around him. Somehow that caused a small smile to creep up on his lips.

Rogue wrapped her arms around her legs as she pressed them against her chest. She didn't cry, she didn't say anything, but John knew that she was worrying herself unnecessarily again. He walked over to her and placed his hand on her cheek, caressing her soft, almost porcelain-like, skin with his thumb. His hand felt warm against her cold skin.After all, it was in the middle of fall, going over to winter, so it was to be expected that it was almost freezing. Since the apartment didn't have such a reliable heat source on top of the bad state of some of the rooms, Rogue was glad that Pyro had high body heat, enough to warm the whole room when he walked in.

His thumb brushed away a lonely tear falling down her cheek. He smiled sadly at her and placed his hand under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. Rogue opened her legs, making it possible for John to stand closer to her and hug her as she placed her head on his bare chest and listened to his heartbeat.

"Listen...it isn't a dangerous one alright? I'll be fine, trust me!" Pyro said with a comforting smile, still forcing her to keep eye contact with him. Rogue smiled sadly and nodded, letting him know that she trusted him, even though she was still worried.

"I can worry can't I?" She asked, trying to lighten up the mood in the room by laughing a little. Pyro chuckled silently and under his breath. A nerve cracking silence broke in again, Rogue always believed that silences could speak for themselves sometimes. A look, a smile, even without speaking a single word to each other, John and Marie understood each other perfectly.

"I want you to stay in the Brotherhood's base during the period I'm gone." John said, breaking the silence again, He turned away from her, already knowing her reaction, he only smiled when she started to protest.

"John, I can take care of myself. I don't need protection from the Brotherhood every damn time you're gone on some special mission!" Rogue protested, waving with her arms to make it even more dramatic. John sighed and shook his head, turning around again to face her while he leaned with his back against the counter, crossing his arms in front of his bare chest.

"It would make _me _feel safer Ro- Marie." Rogue looked away, a little hint of anger visible in her brown eyes as she couldn't believe what he was saying.

"How's that?" She asked in such a soft whisper that he barely heard what she was saying in the first place.

"Because then I know you are in good hands." John answered softly, letting his arms drop next to his body as he walked closer to her again. Rogue finally decided to face him, throwing her arms around his neck and placing a kiss on his lips before she buried her face in his chest while listening to his heartbeat.

"I love you okay?" John whispered again, stroking her hair as she nodded softly. Marie was biting her lip, trying not to let the tears fall down her cheeks as worry took over her senses again. Fear, for his life, for the fact that he might not come back to her.

"Just remember that no matter what, you'll always have someone here for you. I'm never going to leave you...I love you..." Pyro whispered again, closing his eyes and rocking her back and forth in a comforting sort of way.

_Summer has come and passed_

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own X-Men

**Rating** : T

**Pairing** : Rogue/Pyro

**Extra note : **_Sublime Angel, _is my beta for this story, as well as my muse. She helped me through the though parts of this chapter and I love her for it. Thanks sugah!

**Summary**: The innocent can never last...

**Special thanks : **_Racetrack's Goil, Burning, FluidDegree, PyroWhore, CrazyAboutXmen _and_ Sublime Angel_ for being the first ones to review on my new story, hope you'll stick with me until the end of this fic and keep on reviewing )

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_Last Time_

"_Because then I know you are in good hands." John answered softly, letting his arms drop next to his body as he walked closer to her again. Rogue finally decided to face him, throwing her arms around his neck and placing a kiss on his lips before she buried her face in his chest while listening to his heartbeat. _

"_I love you okay?" John whispered again, stroking her hair as she nodded softly. Marie was biting her lip, trying not to let the tears fall down her cheeks as worry took over her senses again. Fear, for his life, for the fact that he might not come back to her. _

"_Just remember that no matter what, you'll always have someone here for you. I'm never going to leave you...I love you..." Pyro whispered again, closing his eyes and rocking her back and forth in a comforting sort of way. _

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**Chapter 2 **

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Rogue sat on the bed, softly playing one of her favourite songs on the guitar that they possessed. It was something she had bought when she was still in the mansion, taking it up as a new hobby as she couldn't do any sports or other activities that could involve her in touching someone. Sometimes, newer students came and sit with her as she played some of her songs in the common room when she had nothing else to do. 

Some songs were known, some of them she had written herself, it didn't matter, with gunshots heard on the back and several shouts, Rogue tried to calm herself as she was afraid for her life. Activists against mutants were raiding houses, its been on the news and in the papers, she just hoped, with every inch of her heart, that they wouldn't find them.

She had a small backpack, filled with some clothes and other necessities, in case something drastic happened and they had to make a quick escape. See, Rogue and Pyro weren't stupid, they knew that they would be discovered one day, best is to be prepared for that day and take it as it came.

Rogue sighed silently and placed the guitar on the bed before she rubbed her tired face with her hands and walked back to the living room where John was anxiously watching the television, hoping for some sort of report on the Activists. He was worried, for Rogue, for himself, for the fact that, while he was Magneto's right hand, they would force information out of him that could lead to the downfall of the Brotherhood. He would rather die than to betray them, but he was only human, there were only a few things that could completely break him. But if they found out about those, god, he didn't even want to think about the consequences then.

Standing behind him, Rogue bend down and wrapped her arms around his neck as she focused her own gaze on the tv. John smiled sadly and threw his head backwards so he could face her, his one hand on her neck, pulling her down in a kiss.

Rogue smiled sadly at him, tears are threatening to fall down her cheeks as she climbs over the couch and sits next to John as close as she could. His arm is around her shoulders, pulling her in a sideway hug, kissing the top of her head.

The news report showed explosions, screaming people, protests organized by people who just wanted this war to end, mutants and humans fighting each other. Rogue swallowed deeply and closed her eyes, not wanting to see any more of the bad news. John looked at her as she stood back up and held her hand in front of her mouth, trying to silence some of the sobs that were coming from her. John stood up himself, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face in his chest, crying.

Rubbing in soft circles on her back, Pyro tried to calm her down, he wanted to leave the apartment and go to the Brotherhoods base, but that would only pull sudden attention. A couple disappearing just when the Activists are breaking in houses and arresting mutants was all to suspicious. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Shouting was heard outside their apartment, boms going off and gunshots.

This was all just a bad dream...

A _very_ bad dream.

One he wanted to wake up from at all costs.

One that he never wanted Marie to have ever again in her life. But for now all he could do was hold her and hope that the activists passed over their apartment by some stroke of luck. Then again, looking back on his life, luck had only been in his side a few times and even then things still hadn't been a bed of roses.

The noises were getting louder and closer. He could feel her shaking in his arms now. She was scared. More gunshots, coming from the lower levels of the apartment. And angry shouts. More shouts and sounds of glass breaking. They were inside the building! John swallowed deeply and thought for a second.

How much time would they have before their apartment was next?

He couldn't bear the thought of those bastards laying a hand on Marie. Images of the beautiful but scared woman in his arms being hurt and abused flooded his mind and filled him with a rage unlike any before.

"Get the backpack Marie, we're leaving," he whispered into her ear, stroking her hair soothingly.

She looked up at him, tear streaks staining her cheeks.

"Jo-hn?"

"It's not safe anymore, " he sighed, "we've got no choice, and from the sounds of things, they're not that far away...and I'm not going to risk losing you..._again_!"

She nodded dumbly and got up to go into their bedroom for the already packed bag. when she came back out, his jacket was already on and he was putting something in his pocket. She saw a flash of silver and felt comforted and worried at the same time.

He noticed the look on her face and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Only if I absolutely have to, I promise..."

She didn't have time to reply.

The door to their apartment burst open and a group of people rushed in, smoke filling the room as the Activists started throwing smoke bombs to confuse them. Marie screamed and dove behind the couch as gunshots rang out in the small space. In the background, she heard the window break from the bullets that missed her and John by an inch. She heard John curse profusely as he threw himself onto the ground.

"Marie," he hissed, "Run!"

She looked at him in a daze.

"Run dammit!"

Her brain didn't even bother to take the time to process what he said. All she heard was "Run!' so she did, but that was easier said than done. Fear took over her senses and she couldn't move. John looked at her, his brown eyes pleading for her to get out of there while she still could. Rogue bit her lip, not really wanting to leave him but she had too. She had no other choice. She leaped up from the wooden floor. The smoke surrounded her and blurred her vision. Rogue could only hope John would be smart enough to get out of there before they caught him. That he would come out alive and well.

Running towards the door, there was the small matter of a hail of bullets coming at her that she needed to avoid in order to make it out alive. She heard John's shouts behind her, more gunshots and screams coming from the Activists who were trying to capture them before they escaped. Rogue finally reached the front door, which had been knocked down by their attackers in order to take them by surprise. Rogue held on to the door frame as she panted and looked over her shoulder at John.

John's shouts and the noise of more gunshots, filled her ears, scarring her brain. Seeing Pyro being shot just before her eyes and falling to the ground made her freeze just as she was about to run out of the apartment like he'd told her to do.

And in that split second of standing there, with her brown eyes fixed on his bleeding form lying on the floor, she saw him flick the lighter out of his pocket and throw her a pained smile before standing up one last time. The flames ignited in his hands and the entire apartment went up in flames!

Rogue was thrown backwards by the explosion. Gas! It had to be the only explanation. That was why he hadn't used his lighter before she was out of the room.

Rogue's back connected with the wall on the other side of the hall. Shaking her head slightly, her eyesight was blurry, she got up from the ground, her shaking legs beneath her acting as her only support. She ran down the wooden stairs, the only thing on her mind was getting out of there. Pyro was a grown boy, he could take care of himself, she had faith in him.

She saw the front entrance, and just like the door of every other small apartment in the building, it had been kicked down and discarded on the floor. But before she could even breathe in the fresh air of the world outside, her own world turned black. And the only thing she could think of at that moment was John.

_The innocent can never last_

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Alright, now you have chapter 2, have you read it? good, liked it? even better, now don't forget to leave a little review so I know what you think of it ...so start reviewing! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own X-Men

**Rating** : T

**Pairing** : Rogue/Pyro

**Extra note : **_Sublime Angel, _is my beta for this story, as well as my muse. She helped me through the though parts of this chapter and I love her for it. Thanks sugah!

**Summary**: The innocent can never last...(Rogue/Pyro)

**Special thanks :**_ Sublime Angel, PyroWhore, CrazyAboutXmen, __Person.With.The.Weird.Name, FluidDegree, Wanda W _and_ dulcesweet _for reviewing on last chapter, hope you enjoy this one and keep on reviewing

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_Last Time_

_Rogue's back connected with the wall on the other side of the hall. Shaking her head slightly, her eyes caused her sight to be blurry as she stood up from the floor, her only support as her legs were shaking underneath her. She ran down the wooden stairs, the only thing on her mind was to get out of there safely, Pyro was a grown boy, he would take care of himself, she had faith in him. _

_She saw the front door, just like the door of every small apartment in the building, it was kicked down and laying down on the floor discarded. But before she could even breathe in the fresh air of the world outside. Her world turned black. And the only thing she could think of at that moment was John. _

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**Chapter 3**

The news report of that day only told the people that the apartment burned down because of some mistake with the wires in the apartment building itself.

"The few people that were inside of the building at the time of the explosion died on the scene." The woman ended the report, she and turned to her collegae who was about to say something in addition but the television was turned off before he could.

"Any news on them?" the old man asked, hoping that the reporter was only half correct and that at least one of them had survived. They just had too, both John and Marie were strong and smart enough to get out of there or surviving an explosion like that.

"None whatsoever." Mystique said sadly, shaking her head as she was worried about the two teenagers. Magneto sighed and turned away from the television so he was sitting at his desk. The metalic balls were swinging back and forth, being the only source of sound in the whole room. Mystique looked at the older mutant and smiled sadly.

"I've sent Gambit and Arclight out to the, burned down apartment. They should be back within the hour with hopefully, some news." Mystique informed him, Magneto frowned a little and then nodded shortly before dismissing her. Mystique bowed slightly and nodded her goodbye before she slowly walked out of the room.

**X X X**

Gambit walked through the ruins of the apartment building, holding a play card safely between his index and middle finger in case there were still some Activists on the look-out. Arclight looked at him annoyed as he started to whistle a little while inspecting the scene for some clues to the possible location, or state of Rogue and Pyro.

If they were, as the news report said, indeed dead because of the fire, they would have to find at least one clue. If not, they still had hope that the two teenagers were alive. The latter being more possible since they were rather smart. Gambit knew that Pyro wouldn't have lived without having some sort of back-up plan for the both of them. They had routines, plans in case of, they were prepared for anything thrown in their path.

Gambit smiled to himself and kicked against one of the walls that was still standing in order to see if it would fall over or not, pouting when it kept standing, even after a few kicks it was still standing.

"Stop messing around!" Arclight's voice alerted him, causing Gambit to chuckle and shake his head.

"Calm down cher, they got out alright, I'm sure of it." Gambit responded, a deep French accent was clearly heard in his voice.

Arclight rolled her eyes and bended down and whipped some of the ashes away. Gambit raised an eyebrow at her while he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Arclight sighed and shook her head before standing up and cleaning her hands on her black pants.

"Come on, lets go, there's nothing to find here anyway." She muttered under her breath as she walked away from the ruins that were once an apartment building. And the home to two of her best friends.

**X X X **

Gambit and Arclight entered the Brotherhood's base. It was completely made out of metal, causing the high heels of Arclights boots and the thumping of Gambits heavy steps to be heard in the empty corridor of the, god knows how big, base. Knocking on the metal door of Magneto's office, the two mutants waited until they had allowance to enter. The office wasn't all that different from the rest of the base, being completely build out of metal, it was rather plain and boring. The only thing in the room was his desk, with several papers spread across it and the four metal balls clashing against each other, making a continued sound that sort of calmed Magneto as he worked.

Magneto looked up from the papers he was reading as the couple entered his office. Making eye contact with both of them, he leaned back in his chair and waited for one of them to report on what they had learned on the scene.

"No trace left of Pyro, nor Rogue. Everything burned down to ashes. So all we could find were ashes." Arclight stated. Gambit stood next to her, not saying anything as the young woman next to him was clearly leading the conversation. "If anyone was in that room when it exploded, Pyro's flames would have incincerated them all. We can assume therefore that they all died, but there's no way to be one hundred percent sure."

Gambit was silent, deep in thought. Something that everyone else would have thought strange for the cajun.

"Sorry to interrupt ya cher but I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that." He interrupted her just when she opened her mouth to continue her report. Magneto turned to eye Gambit with a hint of interest.

"Oh, then pray tell what does the great cajun think of the situation?" Arclight raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she turned to face him. Gambit eyed Magneto inconsequentially.

"I think they got out. The kid wouldn't have fried cherie, even if it was to save them...I think we should use 'other' means of locating them," and he left the sentence hanging in the air so as to emphasize the point he was trying to make.

"If they got out, as you think, then were do you think they could be?" Arclight asked curious, still looking at Gambit who shook his head, chuckling slightly.

"Listen cher, Pyro is a smart boy, he has back-up plans if anything goes wrong. Rogue knows this. Around this time, they're probably taking care of their wounds first and making sure they get the Activists of their trail before they come here." Gambit said, looking back and forth between Arclight and Magneto to see if they were still following his reasoning.

"I say, lets wait until we hear from them instead of sending out our recruits to search for them. Its better if we stay here and train so we are ready to fight when we have too." Gambit concluded, looking at Magneto and hoping that he would agree with him on this part.

Magneto didn't respond but only nodded slowly and dismissed them before he turned his eyes back to the news paper in front of him, his interest clearly more focused on the article about the fire than anything else that was reported.

Gambit sighed sadly and shook his head as he entered his own little room, there was no window but still some of the sunlight got through and shone in the room in small porportions. Gambit laid down on his bed and looked at the metallic ceiling, hoping that his friends would be alright in the end. Cause if they wouldn't.

God knows what would happen then.

_Here comes the rain again _

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Alright, now you have chapter 3, have you read it? good, liked it? even better, now don't forget to leave a little review so I know what you think of it ...so start reviewing! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I don't own X-Men

**Rating** : T

**Pairing** : Rogue/Pyro

**Extra note : **_Sublime Angel, _is my beta for this story, as well as my muse. She helped me through the though parts of this chapter and I love her for it. Thanks sugah!

**Summary**: The innocent can never last

**Special thanks :** _Sublime Angel, Wanda W, CrazyAboutXmen _and _Psyc0gurl0, _for reviewing on my last chapter, I noticed chapter 3 had less reviews than the others, so please, if you havent reviewed on the last chapter yet, or any of the others, please do so, I'd love to hear your feedback on this story and comments, they make me smile

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_Last Time_

"_Listen cher, Pyro is a smart boy, he has back-up plans if anything goes wrong. Rogue knows this. Around this time, they're probably taking care of their wounds first and making sure they get the Activists of their trail before they come here." Gambit said, looking back and forth between Arclight and Magneto to see if they were still following his reasoning._

"_I say, lets wait until we hear from them instead of sending out our recruits to search for them. Its better if we stay here and train so we are ready to fight when we have too." Gambit concluded, looking at Magneto and hoping that he would agree with him on this part. _

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**Chapter 4**

Rogue tried to move but she felt like there were weights keeping her down. She frowned, her eyes didn't want to open when she tried to. What happened? Where was she? Was John alright? Did he survive? Questions went through her mind all at the same time, but she didn't have an answer, for neither of them. Trying to lift her arm up, Rogue soon found that she couldn't, not because they were tied up, or that they were held down by some invisible force. She was just too weak to even make a move. Let alone open her eyes.

She groaned, still trying to open her eyes. She had no idea on how long she had been laying there, half conscious. She wondered what day it was, how long she had been unconscious. Rogue finally managed, after some time, to open her eyes. Darkness was all around her as she slowly, and as careful as she could, sat up. She knew she had several wounds scarring her body at the moment, her side was bleeding and the wound was probably slowly getting infected by cause of not being taken care off immediately.

But at that moment, Rogue didn't really care about her wounds, or her weaknesses, she wanted to know where John was, if he was alright, if he was caught or not. Did he survive the blast that he caused in the first place, if so, was he badly wounded or not? All of these questions went through her mind as she panted heavily from using almost all of her strength to sit up.

She felt around her with her hands, feeling the ground under her made her realize she was just laying on the floor. Rogue tried to calm herself as she felt some sort of panic attack rise up. Her chest tightened up as she struggled to breathe. She remember what John used to say her whenever this happened.

Thinking of John sort of helped her calm down but tears were in the corner of her eyes as she tried to remember what happened before she woke up. Rogue remembered loads of smoke, fire, John telling her to run, to get out of there, shouts, the kiss they shared before the attack on their home. John holding her in her arms.

Slowly, Marie tried to stand up on her legs. Once she managed, she sought support at the wall, holding on it for dear life as her legs were about to give in from under her. Rogue panted, knowing that she was slowly losing all of the little strenght still left in her body. Her wounds were heavily bleeding, causing her to feel rather light-headed. Holding her head with one hand while her other was significally placed on the wall.

"Where am I?" she muttered in the darkness, blinking with her eyes a couple of times so she could adjust to the darkness surrounding her. But no avail, she still couldn't see her surroundings, nor the size of the room she was in or what else was placed in the room. Oh how she wished for some moon or sunlight at that moment.

All of the sudden, a door opened on the other side of the room she was in. Blinking a couple of times, Rogue realized that it wouldn't help agains the bright light suddenly shining in the room. She held a hand in front of her eyes, to shield them from the ligt.

A shadowy figure appeared in the doorway, but Rogue couldn't make out any details because of the bright light shining in her brown eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but she failed to do so as the shadow walked closer and closer towards her. Without any warning or a word from the person that was suddenly standing in front of her. Rogue felt a sharp pain in her arm as a hand grabbed it tightly, probably hard enough for it too bruise before Rogue felt a second pain a little higher than the hand on her arm.

Her eyes began to close as she suddenly felt herself growing weaker and weaker. What was happening to her. The shadow slowly released her arm and supported her weak body as her knees gave in from under her and she fell on the floor.

What was happening to her? What was the sharp pain in her arm just a few seconds ago. Who was this shadowy figure who had held her before she felt such a sharp pain. Rogue's eyes were closed, her body couldn't move but her mind was racing with burning questions that wanted to be answered.

And at that exact moment, while she was completely semi-consious, Rogue felt completely helpless and once more, alone.

_Falling from the stars _

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	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: I don't own X-Men

**Rating** : T

**Pairing** : Rogue/Pyro

**Extra note : **_Sublime Angel, _is my beta for this story, as well as my muse. She helped me through the though parts of this chapter and I love her for it. Thanks sugah!

**Summary**: The innocent will never last...

**Special thanks :** _Person.With.The.Weird.Name, Wanda W _and _Sublime Angel _for being the three reviewers on last chapter. I noticed chapter 4 had even less reviews than the others, so please, if you havent reviewed on the last chapter yet, or any of the others, please do so, I'd love to hear your feedback on this story and comments, they make me smile

* * *

_Last Time_

_What was happening to her? What was the sharp pain in her arm just a few seconds ago. Who was this shadowy figure who had held her before she felt such a sharp pain. Rogue's eyes were closed, her body couldn't move but her mind was racing with burning questions that wanted to be answered._

_And at that exact moment, while she was completely semi-consious, Rogue felt completely helpless and once more, alone. _

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Pyro woke up rather abruptly as he felt a sharp pain in his ribs. He winced briefly as he didn't expect the sudden waking up. A gruff and heavy voice muttered something along the lines of "get up!" before, what Pyro guessed was the guy's foot, connected with his ribs again. John, being on the floor with his face buried in the ground, tried to get up as fast as he could, guessing that if he didn't do as his captors commanded, he would probably get another foot in his ribs. Which was something he would rather avoid.

Pyro's entire body was shaking as he tried to stay on his feet, using the wall as his only support. His eyes were cast downwards, his blond-brown hair hanging in front of them, casting shadows over his eyes so that his captors couldn't immediately see the pain reflected in their brown depths. He felt two men grab both of his arms and drag him out of the room, quicker than he could react. Tripping over his own feet, Pyro cursed to himself as he was simply dragged out of the room without him having to make any movement.

Blinding lights were shining all around him, making it difficult to see his surroundings or anything that could help him recognize where he was. Being Magneto's right hand man, Pyro learned how to tell where the base was located: both above ground and underground in a certain area. He was thrown into another room, equally lit enough to blind him.

"Where is Magneto's base?" a deep voice asked him.

It was a man's by the sound of it, and apparently the person was sitting on the other side of the small table as Pyro was forced to sit down on a wooden chair. His eyes looked around the room briefly, trying to see something, a wall, the floor, anything but the shadowy figure in front of him. His eyes kept avoiding the shadowy figure until he felt a sharp pain in his back. Pyro winced slightly in pain, not really expecting to feel any pain if he kept avoiding the man in front of him.

"Fuck you." Pyro muttered as he looked over his shoulder at one of the men that dragged him in the room in the first place.

"Answer the question _Pyro_!" the man spat out his mutant name as if it was poison.

Pyro smirked, realizing he must be in the base of the activists. Pyro leaned back in the chair, his hands tied behind his back as he faced the man in front of him, not pleasuring him with answering the question like he wanted.

"Where-is-Magneto's-base?" the man asked again, in a slower tone as if Pyro couldn't understand English.

Pyro kept the smirk on his lips and didn't answer the question. He felt another sharp pain in his back, notifying him that it would be best to answer or he would suffer more pain. Pyro blinked, blocking out the pain as Magneto had taught him to do.

Nothing was worse than letting your enemies see how you reacted to certain punishments and showing them the pain they were causing you. You might as well roll over and act like their lapdog! And that was something that Pyro would never do!

Show no emotion, that's what he was told. But Pyro had soon forgotten that rule whenever Rogue was around. God how he wished she was there with him right now. He wondered if she was okay, if she had survived the blast he caused when he turned on the gas and used one of his deadly fire balls to ensure that it would work.

He had used the same technique a hundred times during Danger room sessions, but it was the first time he had really used it in real life and he certainly didn't expect to survive that blast, nor to be captured by the Activists who were only out to torture and probably kill him in order to get to Magneto. After all, he was Magneto's right hand man and as such he had access to quite a lot of their confidential plans.

The shadow in front of him made a short movement towards the two guards standing behind him before Pyro was lifted from the chair, his hands still tied up behind his back with metallic binders.

He was thrown back into his cell and his face hit the hard cemented ground of the small dark room where he had to reside until they either released him, or until he escaped himself. The latter would be more likely. Pyro felt the blood stream from his nose as he lifted himself up, his arms still shaking under his weight. He wasn't as strong as before, he was already weakened by the torture they had put him through. And this wasn't the first interrogation they had dragged him too either. He'd had several of them; some were while he was sedated with drugs to numb the pain as well as make it easier for him to spill whatever he knew. They probably figured he'd give in easily if he didn't in complete control of his full senses.

John felt the blood coming from the reopened wounds on his back. There wasn't really much need for a shirt anymore since the one he'd come in with had been shredded to strips from all the lashes they'd given to him. Then again it wasn't like he should have expected anything different if he didn't listen to them, and he had no intention of obeying them any time soon!**  
**

Pyro closed his eyes, thinking of what happened at the small apartment he and Rogue shared together.

Was Magneto already informed about their whereabouts? Were they searching for him, or had they thought rationally and decided that he could fight his own way out since they knew him better than anyone else? But what about Rogue? How was she holding up? Was she even still alive? Had she managed to escape the apartment right after the blast?

While he was deep in thought, the door to his cell opened again and the white light immediately filled the entire room in just a matter of seconds.

Pyro heard screaming coming from lower down the hall where his cell was located. It was a girl's scream, he observed, probably one that was much younger than him and less resistant to constant torture. He could have found out more judging from the screams and pleas coming from the room where he was being led, but his weak body prevented his mind from doing so. The room he was taken too was quite dirty, like it hadn't been cleaned for months, or maybe years.

Blood stains were all over the floor, probably from all the torture they had put previous mutants, and perhaps humans as well, through. He was pushed into one of the smaller cells. Its walls were white and plastic, but luckily for him not transparent. The rope around his already quite red wrists (because of the constant movement) was attached to a hook that hung from the ceiling. His back was completely covered in blood, some dried up and some of it still seeping from the wounds.

The screams of the girl on the other side of the room filled his ears. She was around the age of 16, or so from what he could tell. Her brown hair hung loosely in front of her face, making it difficult for Pyro to see her eyes or her face in general. Several guards were standing around her body, kicking her in several vulnerable places. One of the guards, who seemed to be the youngest one and probably around Pyro's age, held the whip that scarred the young girl's back with every slash.

His eyes were cast away from the young girl's body on the floor as cold water was suddenly dashed over his body in hard sprays. John bit his lip, refusing to cry out in pain, figuring that the water probably contained salt to make sure his wounds wouldn't heal and that the scars would remain.

_Another collection of war wounds,_ Pyro thought briefly as the cold, salty water made him feel like his skin was slowly being burnt away.

Perhaps the blood would wash off his back, but the wounds would eventually start to bleed again. After what he guessed had been half an hour, his hands were freed from the hook and he fell on the floor in a weak heap as his knees gave out from under him. Pyro winced in pain as he landed on his bare back on the cold, hard, stone floor. He groaned in pain and closed his eyes while he bit back the pain surging through his slender body.

The screams of the young girl had stopped a few minutes before he was released which meant that she was probably already back in her cell, trying to recover from the torture she had just endured. John felt the two guards standing next to him lift him up by the arms and force him to stand on his feet, even though his strength was slowly ebbing away so that he barely had enough left to stand for more than a few seconds, let alone walk all the way back to his cell.

Slowly, step by step, Pyro managed to walk with the two guards supporting his body. But clearly, they were rather irritated by the slow response Pyro gave them and John soon felt another sharp pain on his back, knowing that the third guard had just given him another slash. The pain caused him to double over and fall on his knees.

Knowing that he would only be punished more severely, John tried to stand up again, even though his knees were shaking due to the weight being put on them. His eyes were cast downwards on the floor, his hair, still wet because of the shower, hung in front of his eyes, filled with pain as he took some more weak steps, trying to stay conscious as his sight was starting to blur.

He was rudely thrown into his cell, falling backwards and landing on his back without any possibility of stopping his body from being hurt even more. Pyro cursed under his breath as he turned around weakly, lying on the cold cement floor on his bare chest. His head felt light and his eyesight was all blurry. He was slowly losing complete conscious control over his body, going through the same torture every day: repetitive interrogation(with which he still refused to cooperate), being thrown into his cell on a constant basis, only to be dragged out again to suffer from several beatings. And all of this wonderful hospitality ended each time with him watching the blood seep from his body day after day, thanks to the delightfully tasteful salt water they so kindly gave to him!

How could he NOT maintain an extremely positive attitude in this situation when he was being taken care of with the utmost love and tender concern?

The wounds on his back were slowly starting to become infected, due to the salt water that had been thrown on them and the constant reopening caused by the whip slashes. Pyro groaned in pain. Several days passed without him having any sense of time or location. But he reasoned that at least a week or two had passed. Two weeks of torture and interrogation without responding and being forced to eat so he would be able to answer to their repeated questions. And even though Pyro hated the food they forced on him, he ate it, knowing that he would need all the strength he could muster for his escape.

Even though that seemed like an unreachable goal at that moment.

Two weeks of wondering about Rogue and her situation.

_Drenched in my pain again_

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liked it? good 

loved it? even better

review and make me smile here people !!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I don't own X-Men

**Rating** : T

**Pairing** : Rogue/Pyro

**Extra note : **_Sublime Angel, _is my beta for this story, as well as my muse. She helped me through the though parts of this chapter and I love her for it. Thanks sugah!

**Summary**: The innocent will never last...

**Special thanks :** _laenamoradadeROGUE_, _FireAngel_, _FluidDegree_ and _RogueOnFire, _for being the four reviewers on last chapter, if you havent reviewed on the last chapter yet, or any of the others, please do so, I'd love to hear your feedback on this story and comments, they make me smile

* * *

_Last Time_

_He was rudely thrown into his cell, falling backwards and landing on his back without any possibility of stopping his body from being hurt even more. Pyro cursed under his breath as he turned around weakly, lying on the cold cement floor on his bare chest. His head felt light and his eyesight was all blurry. _

_He was slowly losing complete conscious control over his body, going through the same torture every day: repetitive interrogation(with which he still refused to__cooperate), being thrown into his cell on a constant basis, only to be dragged out again to suffer from several beatings. And all of this wonderful hospitality ended each time with him watching the blood seep from his body day after day, thanks to the delightfully tasteful salt water they so kindly gave to him! _

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Rogue woke up disoriented, her eyes opened briefly and adjusted to the light in the dim-lighted room. Looking around, she noticed how much the room actually looked like the medical bay over at the Xavier mansion, a place where she hadn't been in years. The only difference between this room and the room over at the mansion was the colour. Obviously the blue colour was replaced by a sort of light gray, giving it an even more boring vibe than the room probably was. Rogue soon realized that the growing cold at her arms were caused by the small fact that she was actually laying down, more like tied down, on a metallic and ice cold medical bed.

Rogue tried to lift her arms up and actually sit upright but found it impossible with the restrains covering her wrists and ankles so she couldn't escape. She groaned, feeling the sharp edges of the leather holding her down slit her wrists slightly. Rogue sighed and felt her eyes close again, remembering the sharp pain in her arm before she woke up in the medical bay made her think about what caused it.

Looking around, which was the one of the only movements she could do, Rogue's eyes fell on the plate a little further away from her bed, several empty needles were laying on top of it, letting her know that she was probably drugged to sleep. Rogue felt the remains of the drugs still in her system as she fought against sleep that was slowly trying to take over her body again.

Turning her head away from the needles, Rogue faced the ceiling, which was just as boring as the rest of the room. The only difference was that it was painted white instead of grey. She was still feeling weak, she could barely lift her fingers up, let alone her head to look at her feet. Still, Rogue pondered about escaping this place.

How was she going to escape if she was tied down like this? Noticing that she was only wearing a pair of brown pants until her knees, fit up with a pair of black socks, which helped nothing against the irritation the leather caused on her ankles, together with a, spaghetti strapped, top made her realize that she was still a danger to anyone that touched her.

Rogue felt a smile creep up her lips. But surely her captors must know this, she reasoned. All of them were probably forced to wear gloves whenever they were around her or touching her. There must be _someone_that wasn't applied to that rule. And that someone, would make sure she could get the hell out of there.

Then there was the small fact that she had no idea where she was, how to get out of the base without anyone capturing her before she could and where to go to after she, eventually with a little luck, got out. Rogue closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath as she tried to calm herself and her rummaging thoughts. They only caused for more head aches. Something she'd rather avoid at that moment.

She heard footsteps in the hall, echoing throughout the whole room even though the door was closed. Rogue's head turned towards the metalic door at the other end of the room. Moving her wrists in an attempt to free herself before the person reached the room, Rogue felt the sharp pain of leather cutting in her skin with every small move. She bit back the pain going through her arms. The footsteps stopped right in front of the door, which slid open only seconds later, revealing a middle-aged man. His hair was dark brown with some grey hairs showing at the roots. Rogue shot a glare at the man as he walked closer towards her without saying a single word or showing any emotion towards the young girl.

"Where am I?" Rogue spat at the man, who stood at one of the tables that contained the plate full of needles. From the corner of her eyes, Rogue saw the man prepare a needle, pressing it a little so some of the liquid spat out through the needle. The man turned around and faced Rogue as she kept her eyes on the man in front of her.

"This will only hurt a bit." He whispered while his eyes were fixated on the needle. Rogue took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down as she saw the needle. Just like John, she was deadly afraid of needles, something she had never been able to overcome.

She felt the drugs enter her system as the needle penetrated her skin. Rogue winced slightly in pain before she saw her eyesight blur slightly. She could barely see the details of the man leaning over her body as he shone a light in her eyes.

"Where is Magneto's base?" He asked in a demanding voice, something Rogue absolutely didn't like. She wasn't just some answering machine that answered every question they asked. Rogue scowled and looked away before fixing her eyes back on the blurry person above her, glaring slightly at him.

"You really think that I'm going to spill everything to you?" Rogue hissed under her breath. "If you want answers, get them somewhere else asshole."

Obviously, this wasn't the answer he wished he had received. Slapping Rogue hard, he muttered something among the lines of "Fuck you." under his breath but loud enough for Rogue to hear it.

"Only on weekends sugah'!" She replied back before he could say something. The man left her side and walked back over to his table where several more needles were placed neatly next to each other.

Remembering that she still had control over her powers and that the drugs had given her a small energy boost, Rogue looked down to her hands, which were still tied down by the leather restrains, which were starting to cut and irritate her wrists by the many movements she made and attempts to free herself from them.

Biting her lip slightly, Rogue started to concentrate herself on her body temperature. Having Pyro inside of her certainly helped her along. Slowly but surely, the leather began to loosen its grip on her wrists and ankles. Rogue's sight was slightly starting to focus again, but she knew she had to hurry up and free herself before she was given a second needle full of drugs.

Knowing that the leather was loose enough to free herself, Rogue quickly swung her legs over the side of the medical cot and stood on her own feet for, what was probably the first time in weeks. The doctor turned around and looked shocked by the fact that she was free from the restrains. He dropped the needle he was holding in his hands and ran towards the door. But Rogue stopped him before he could alert the others and threw him against the wall, knocking him out immediately.

Rogue quickly sneaked out of the room as silent as she could, listening if she could hear any other guards around. She was still weakened but the drugs in her system kept her going for a while longer as she walked through the corridors of the Activist's base, trying to find her way out. Walking around aimessly isn't that good if you're already weakened. Rogue sighed to herself and turned into another corridor, hoping that it would lead to the exit.

"Haven't you heard?" A guards voice alerted Rogue to his presence, Rogue halted in the middle of the hall way, her eyes widened slightly as she heard foot steps coming closer to her. Looking around her quickly, Rogue walked around the corner, hiding behind the wall and hoping that the guard wouldn't see her.

"Hear what?" Another voice asked. Rogue cursed to herself, they were with two. Not only was she already weakened by running around to find the exit, if she was caught by those guards, she wasn't going to get out of there alive.

"Hey you two! Stop slacking around!" A third voice boomed through the hall way. Rogue cursed and held her breath as she heard the two other men mutter some words under their breaths and walked further, luckily for Rogue, they passed the smaller hallway where she was hiding.

Sneaking out the hallway, Rogue was careful enough to look around and search for any guards before she kept on walking, searching for the exit. There weren't many doors so it shouldn't be all to hard to find the one out. Or so she reasoned. Rogue turned around the corner again, noticing a door at the other end relieved her since she was near fainting. The drugs began to wear off, leaving her rather weak because of the endless weeks of not eating enough, being harassed and tortured by the guards and being drugged all the time so she would cooperate with them.

Trying to push open the heavy metallic door only caused Rogue to loose any more energy. Panting heavily, Rogue managed to open the heavy door a little, enough for her to worm her way towards the outside world and escape. She heard screaming behind her, alerting her that her escape was finally discovered. Rogue's heart began to beat harder and faster, knowing that there was an small chance that she could get caught before getting out of the neighbourhood safely.

Rain was falling down on her head. Rogue sighed and ran down the cement way leading towards the forest on the other end. Knowing that she could faint every moment now, Rogue just hoped she could reach the forest before she did.

_I knew it wasn't a good idea to run in the rain with my socks on, _Rogue thought as she reached the forest every moment. The shouts behind her her made her realize that they were on her heels, she didn't have much time left. It was now or never.

Running through the forest, Rogue felt her strength slowly fading from her body. The drugs had worked out, they had helped her get out, but now she just had to make sure she stayed out. She couldn't be caught again. The shouts behind her were fading, she knew they were slowly giving up on her. Her brown hair was in front of her eyes and her feet were numb. She was sure she looked like crap but at that moment, she didn't really care. She had to get out of there and get somewhere safe before she would give up and let her body rest.

Her whole body was protesting as she saw the lights of a city coming closer to her. She was almost out of there, only a few more miles to go. The shouting behind her had stopped, something she was grateful for since she knew she could stop running for just a few minute so she could catch her breath.

Looking around the area for the first time, Rogue wondered where she was, she didn't recognize the forest, or the city that was just in front of her. With a road in between. Several cars passed, not noticing her. Even though she looked like she had just been mobbed. Limping slightly, Rogue walked over the road, entering the small town. All of the sudden, she was grabbed from behind, a pair of strong arms were wrapped around her waist and held her close.

"How do you sweat so much petît, and not loose weight?!"

"Gambit?" Rogue asked weakly, leaning against his chest as she realized she was in good hands. His arms were still wrapped around her, safely protected by his brow coat.

"We do what we have to, right cherie?"

"What are you talking about?" Rogue asked weakly as she felt herself being lifted up in his arms. Knowing that she was too weak to actually walk, she was grateful for the fact that he carried her.

"You'll be fine, cherie. You've got people looking out for you." He whispered just before she lost conscious.

_But never forget what I lost _

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alright that was chapter 6! sorry for the slow update but life has been hectic. Don't worry, I haven't lost interest in this story, I'm almost finished writing it completely actually so read and review this one and perhaps chapter 7 shall be a quick one! 


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer** : I don't own X-Men

**Extra note** : Sublime Angel, is my beta for this story, as well as my muse. She helped me through the though parts of this chapter and I love her for it. Thanks sugah! (this chapter isn't beta'ed by her since she's been absent the last couple of weeks...internet connection can suck sometimes can't it?) sorry for the shortness of this one 

**Special thanks : **_FireAngel_, _RogueOnFire _and _dulcesweet _for being my three reviewers on the last chapter. Please people, if you haven't reviewed yet..please don't forget to do so! 

* * *

_**Last Time**_

"_How do you sweat so much petît, and not loose weight!"_

"_Gambit?" Rogue asked weakly, leaning against his chest as she realized she was in good hands. His arms were still wrapped around her, safely protected by his brow coat. _

"_We do what we have to, right cherie?" _

"_What are you talking about?" Rogue asked weakly as she felt herself being lifted up in his arms. Knowing that she was too weak to actually walk, she was grateful for the fact that he carried her. _

"_You'll be fine, cherie. You've got people looking out for you." He whispered just before she lost conscious._

* * *

Chapter 7

A tall woman walked through the hall way, which was completely forged out of metal. Her shoulder length black hair hung loose and framed her face. A few strings were in front of her brown eyes, causing her to shake her head from time to time to move it out of the way without using her hands. Even though she could change her appearance in only a matter of seconds, Mystique preferred this look, it was the one that looked the most like her from the time before she turned into 'Mystique'. Of course, being a shapeshifting mutant was always handy to have during missions and Mystique knew it, gladly using this to her advantage. 

Mystique walked through the hallway of the Brotherhood's base, some of the mutants she passed by said something to her but her mind didn't register it. Instead, her mind was on Rogue and Pyro, and how they were doing. Its been two weeks since the attack on their apartment, two weeks without any information. Mystique couldn't help but worry. Rogue was her daughter after all, and Pyro, she loved the kid. She had been to the ruins of the apartment herself, trying to find something herself but with no avail. 

There was not a single trace left. Whatever Pyro did, he had done it good. He had erased himself and Rogue from face of the earth, with help from the Activists. Whether they were alive or not, no one knew. The other mutants walking around the base were smart enough to know that at least one of them survived. They had to be strong mutants or they would never have gotten close to Magneto in the first place. Pyro had trained long enough at the mansion of Xavier, knowing that he was stronger than anyone else there and yet they never acknowledged him. Erik had seen this and played in on the boys feelings about it, knowing that it angered the young boy and gladly using this to his advantage. Of course, Pyro had immediately taken interest in the older man and knew that, if he wanted to become stronger, he'd have to change sides. 

Strong mutants don't just disappear from the face of the earth just like that. Mystique had to agree with them but she couldn't help but worry about the two teenagers. She just wished they had any news about them. Even if it was only a small sign, just to let them know that they were still alive. Mystique sighed and shook her head before she walked into the kitchen. Perhaps a cup of coffee would help her calm her nerves. She grabbed a cup from the cupboard and searched around for the pot of coffee that she had seen in the room earlier. Was she so far away with her mind that she even forgot where the coffee was placed? Raven frowned and looked around the kitchen for a few seconds before her eyes fell on the familiar pot, still bearing some fresh coffee from earlier that morning. 

"Stop worrying!" Mystique turned around, shocked by the sudden reaction to her brooding mood, something that was clearly visible since she had stopped talking again, a habit she had when she was either worrying or brooding on something. Mystique smiled tiredly at Wanda standing in front of her and sipped from the cup of coffee she was holding in her slender hands. 

"I'm a mother worrying about her child, there's nothing wrong with that." Mystique said softly, looking down at the cup sadly. Wanda nodded, understanding what she said. Everyone was worried about them really, just, no one dared talking about it. As if it was jinxed. As if something bad would happen if they would even mention it. Some people chose to hide their worry for the two teenagers, other chose to show it by locking themselves up and retreating in themselves instead of talking about it. Mystique took a last sip from her cup of coffee before she placed it back on the counter behind her and walked out of the room. 

**X**

Pyro was once again, just like any other day, dragged out of his cell. He couldn't walk on his own any more, the severe beatings and torture he had endured over the past few weeks had taken care of that. His hair was greasy, hanging in front of his eyes and some of the tips were covered in the blood, the head wounds had gladly taken care of that. Pyro groaned as he felt himself being lift up from the cement floor and the bright light shone in his eyes. He already knew the routine, first some interrogation about the whereabouts of Magneto and the Brotherhood's base, questions he still refused to answer, being abused throughout the session, mostly caused because he didn't want to answer or respond and then being dragged into the shower and his wounds covered with salt water, only causing them to infect slightly and only start bleeding again. 

Wincing in pain, John arched his back as the salt water dripped down his back and into the wounds the lashes had left. He bit his lip, trying to bite back the pain that went through his body. He heard some of the guards behind him laugh, probably at his expensive. Pyro cursed them in his mind, hoping they would die when he escaped eventually. 

His thoughts went to Rogue from the moment he was thrown back into his cell. He wanted to get out of there and hug her again, hold her in his arms and tell her everything would be alright. But the fact that he was trapped, tortured and would probably not survive this one stopped him from doing so. 

The darkness around him every day was driving him crazy. Ever since he woke up in this dark, and rather morbid, place, John was longing for the fire. He wanted to hold it again, feel its power when he used it, manipulate it. His right hand twitched slightly, reacting to his thoughts of the fire. John kept his eyes closed and tried to steady his breathing. The strength in his body was slowly ebbing away from him, leaving him powerless and weak. A situation Pyro didn't like from the beginning. 

Finally opening his eyes, John groaned in pain as the splitting head ache just got worse, causing him to close his eyes again in a matter of seconds. He heard footsteps in the hallway, stopping right in front of his door. Muffled voices stopped before the door swung open. Pyro didn't move, nor did he flinch. He wasn't even sure if his body was still able to move in the first place. His back was killing him as the wounds throbbed from the pain.

John's mind wondered what was happening. But before he knew what happened, a hand pulled him up from the floor by his brown-blond hair. John winced as the head wound from the previous day started bleeding again when he was pushed against the wall of his cell.

"You're just a piece of scum!" The guard spat in his face as John felt the wounds on his bare back and head being pushed against the hard cement wall. His feet hovered slightly above the floor as he was now held up by his neck. John tried to breath as the hand was gripping his throat. His eyesight was blurry and unfocused, leaving him to blink several times after each other in the sudden bright light shining in them. He could barely see who was holding him, but that was just a detail, not that it mattered really. No one cared about his condition or how he was treated. 

"I don't even know why you're still alive, you're useless." The guard hissed as Pyro turned his head away from the man. It was clear that he was drunk, his clothes and breath smelled after the alcohol he had consumed earlier, making John want to vomit.

"Then why don't you kill me then?" John managed to blurt out, even though he was about to faint from lack of air. The words were silent but they came out in some sort of dangerous whisper. The man chuckled and his free hand collided with John's cheek only a second later. John felt his cheek throb slightly and winced in pain, knowing that he was already weakened, more abuse would only cause his body to turn even weaker.

"Where's the fun in that?" The guard smirked, "you know how amusing it is to see you crawl on the floor like some mongrel pup, like the pathetic thing you are?" He asked Pyro as he teenager didn't open his mouth to say something back.

"Highly entertaining." The guard whispered in John's ear before releasing him from his grip. Pyro fell on the floor in a heap, gasping for air and not expecting the sudden movement. He felt his body react to the blow and winced in pain, knowing that it wouldn't be any longer before his body would completely give up on him. 

John tried to lift his body back up so he could face the guard but his arms gave up underneath him. Probably caused by the loss of strength since he got there and the low blood pressure, caused by the sudden movement and the wounds scarring his body. The whole room started spinning around before he fell back on the ground, feeling the cement scratching his bare chest. The foot of the guard connected with his, already broken, ribs before the footsteps faded away and he was left alone in the darkness again.

_Ring out the bells again_


	8. Chapter 8

**Special thanks : **_GabrielsDoubt, Wanda W_ and_ FireAngel, _for being the three reviewers on the last chapter, please people, if you haven't reviewed on the previous chapters yet, please do so, reviews make me smile and I cannot lie, hopefully you'll like the next chapter!

_Last Time_

"_Then why don't you kill me then?" John managed to blurt out, even though he was about to faint from lack of air. The words were silent but they came out in some sort of dangerous whisper. _

"_Where's the fun in that?" The guard smirked, "you know how amusing it is to see you crawl on the floor like some mongrel pup, like the pathetic thing you are?" He asked Pyro as he teenager didn't open his mouth to say something back._

"_Highly entertaining." The guard whispered in John's ear before releasing him from his grip. Pyro fell on the floor in a heap, gasping for air and not expecting the sudden movement. The whole room started spinning around before he fell back on the ground, feeling the cement scratching his bare chest. The foot of the guard connected with his, already broken, ribs before the footsteps faded away and he was left alone in the darkness again._

**Chapter 8**

Gambit carefully placed Rogue on the single bed in the guest room of the little house he was currently occupying, the house had been deserted anyway so why not use it while no one lived here anyway. Her wounds were still bleeding slightly and even some of them were badly infected. Her hair was in a mess, several knots and leaves could be found while her, once pearl-white streaks, were almost blending in with her dark brown hair.

Her eyes were closed but her chest was rising up and down slightly, but the fact that she was practically freezing up alarmed Remy the most. Not that it was such a big surprise, she was only wearing knee-high shorts and a spaghetti-strapped top and it was freezing cold outside. Considering she was sleeping, he saw this as the perfect opportunity to take the time and clean her wounds and treat them like they should be.

Walking towards the small bathroom, Gambit grabbed a small cup and filled it with warm water, two cloths and some bandages. Smiling sadly, Remy whipped some of Rogue's hair out of her eyes and face before he placed one of the cloths – already dipped in the warm water- on her forehead in a way to slightly try and warm her up.

He placed the second cloth in the water and carefully started to clean her wounds, trying to get all of the dirt and the dried up blood out of them so they could heal nicely, he just hoped she wouldn't wake up while he was doing this, nothing could hurt more than being awake while someone was treating your wounds that were already infected and probably would leave a scar if they ever healed.

Her breathing was calm and so silent, that Gambit felt for a pulse every now and then, just to see if she was still with him. Trying not to wake her up, Remy started to bandage up her wounds, hoping that they would heal soon and that she would be alright again.

The water was coloured in a deep shade of red, caused by all the dried up blood and dirt coming from her wounds and the small cuts surrounding them. He felt her forehead and saw that she was slowly warming up, of course, this was only to be expected as he had covered her with all the blankets he could find and turned up the heat as high as he could but since it was a deserted house, it was hard to heat it up without pulling attention to himself and now Rogue, who was probably being searched by her captors.

He wished he could do more for the southern belle at that moment, but all he could do was wait for her to wake up in the first place.

He went to the small kitchen at the end of the hallway, leaving Rogue alone in the small room where she was sleeping. He desperately needed a cup of coffee more than anything. Playing with his cards, Gambit was deep in thoughts.

Who could've done that to Rogue? Why? Remy shook his head out of the thoughts and took another sip from his coffee, if Rogue had escaped and barely made it out alive, he didn't want to think what they were putting Pyro through.

Gambit had to admit that he was slightly jealous of the teenager though. He had Rogue – a beautiful young woman in his honest opinion –, a high position with Magneto (which was probably the reason why he was probably endure the most torture) and he was pretty smart for some hotheaded teenager.

But even if Pyro had all of that, he didn't deserve whatever he was going through at that moment, he was just a teenager and supposed to be enjoying his life and discovering love but instead, he was trapped in this war between humans and mutants, the kind that he fought for with pride that even inspired the younger recruits at the Brotherhood base. Gambit sighed and pocketed his stack of cards again before taking the last sip from his coffee.

When he arrived at Rogue's room, only a few seconds later, he was surprised to see that she was already up and sitting in the middle of the bed with her legs pressed against her chest and her head buried in her knees even though the wounds probably started bleeding again, she didn't really look in pain psychically.

"Rogue, darlin'?" Remy whispered in the dark, dim-lighted room. Rogue's head shot up, showing Gambit her red-shot eyes and her tear-stained cheeks from the crying.

"Is there, _any _news? Anything?" She asked with such a small voice that it caused Gambit's heart to break. She sounded so desperate to find out just the smallest thing about John. Gambit walked towards her and shook his head slightly. He sat down next to her on the bed and pulled her in a one-arm hug, comforting her as she bit back more tears.

"We know nothing." Gambit muttered in her hair as she laid her head down on his shoudler. Rogue sniffed briefly and nodded, whipping away some of the tears in her eyes. Gambit gave her a small peck on the crown of her head and held her close to him.

"How about we get you some of your strength back. Mystique would kill me if I turned up at the base with an unconscious you." Gambit said, trying to lighten the mood a little. Rogue chuckled a little and nodded briefly, agreeing with him on his last statement.

"Cherie, relax, John is a smart guy, he'll get out of there, just like you." Gambit assured her as she sat down at the small kitchen table with her head in her hands. She briefly nodded and looked up at Remy, who had already turned her back on her to focus on the food he was making for her. He got out a plate and placed it in front of her.

"I call it "Eggie in a basket", my mother used to make those every morning. Go on then, try it, you'll love it." Rogue looked rather unsure at the toast but took a bite anyway, knowing that he would eventually force her to eat it anyway, even if she didn't want too. Her eyes light up slightly as she looked at Gambit with a small smile on her lips.

"Told you you would love it." He smirked, "or did you think I couldn't cook?" He asked, looking her straight in the eye. Rogue chuckled and nodded slightly, causing Gambit to pretend to look hurt for a while, mocking her slightly.

"We'll get you back on your feet in no time." Gambit said, sitting down at the other side of the table and taking her hand in his for a moment before he placed a kiss on it. "Cherie."

Rogue smiled slightly, wincing in pain as one of the wounds started bleeding again when she tried to lift up her plate and give it to him so he wouldn't have to bend over the whole table to get it. A small red spot was now visible on the bandage around the wound, causing Rogue to look at it rather sadly with some tears in her eyes, _probably from the pain it causes her _Gambit reasoned.

He smiled slightly at her and took one of the painkillers out of the cupboard behind him. Filling a glass with water and giving it to Rogue, it didn't really surprise him that she drank it all out in one sip.

"Thank you." She said, blushing slightly as Remy chuckled a bit while shaking his head.

"How did you find me?" Rogue asked curiously as Gambit placed the empty plate on the sink.

"I didn't cherie, you found me." Remy said, pointing out the obvious. Rogue nodded shortly, knowing that it was the most logical answer to her question.

"I mean, why are you here? Did you know I was here somewhere or was it pure luck?" Rogue asked curiously, wanting to know if the brotherhood knew more on the Activists that had captured her. Gambit shook his head sadly and looked her straight in the eye.

"Cherie, Mystique send me here on orders of Callisto, she sensed some sort of mutant activity around here and asked me to check it out. Whether she sensed you or some other mutant, I don't know, I should ask her that when I check in tonight."

Rogue made a small 'o' with her mouth before she looked down at her hands sadly, she had expected them to know where John was, or at least if they had any idea of his current location. Rogue sighed and nodded, standing up from the table and walking to the small room she occupied before, closing the door behind her and leaving Gambit alone in the kitchen, looking sad and worried as she left his eye sight.

_As my memory rests_


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer **: I don't own X-Men

**Extra note : **_Sublime Angel, _is my beta for this story, as well as my muse. She helped me through the though parts of this chapter and I love her for it. Thanks sugah!

**Thanks : **_RogueOnFire_, _GabrielsDoubt_, _FluidDegree_, _ rinXangelXryro_ and _PyroWhore _for being the reviewers on last chapter! Hopefully you'll like this chapter ;-)

_Last Time_

"_How did you find me?" Rogue asked curiously as Gambit placed the empty plate on the sink._

"_I didn't cherie, you found me." Remy said, pointing out the obvious. Rogue nodded shortly, knowing that it was the most logical answer to her question._

"_I mean, why are you here? Did you know I was here somewhere or was it pure luck?" Rogue asked curiously, wanting to know if the brotherhood knew more on the Activists that had captured her. Gambit shook his head sadly and looked her straight in the eye._

"_Cherie, Mystique send me here on orders of Callisto, she sensed some sort of mutant activity around here and asked me to check it out. Whether she sensed you or some other mutant, I don't know, I should ask her that when I check in tonight." _

_Rogue made a small 'o' with her mouth before she looked down at her hands sadly, she had expected them to know where John was, or at least if they had any idea of his current location. _

**Chapter 9**

"Lets face it, Magneto is not going to come out and search for him. He's some ruthless old bastard that doesn't care about anyone who works with him, no matter how close their position to him are." One of the Activists said as they were all sitting around the smaller table in one of the rooms of the big base.

Their room was the only one where the light was shining, the rest of the rooms in the hallway were occupied by captured mutants, who each had essential information to the Activists, some of them broke down and told them everything in order to be freed, but some others kept going and refused to answer to the repeated questions that they were asked and just took the torture. They wouldn't give up until the day they died, those were the ones who were really dedicated to their leaders and knew the importance to the information they held. Pyro was one of them, he would rather die than to ever betray Magneto, he didn't care on how much times a day he was tortured to get some answers out of him, he would hold on and protect the information until the last bit of strength left his body.

"I say we send him a message, a video or a letter. Just to tell him we got his little fire-starter and that he's already spilling essential information to us." One of the others Activists said, leaning back in his chair and looking around at the faces of his fellow members, who were nodding and agreeing to his plan to lure Magneto out with some sort of leverage.

"A video, we can film him and show how bad he is being treated and all of that shit, it would certainly lure them out or make them realize that they should take action to, perhaps, save him so he would at least survive." The Activist member at the head of the table said, an evil grin played on his lips.

Pyro opened his eyes slightly as his cell door opened again. Two of the Acitivists grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into a lighted room, this room wasn't the usual room he was pushed in for interrogation, which made Pyro wonder what was going on. He looked around the room, his eyesight was still blurry, one eye had turned blue from the continued hitting and dried up blood and dirt was covering his face. The Activists were standing in a group around him and before he realized what was going on, he felt himself being pushed on the floor and his arms tied down behind his back. Pyro blinked several times, trying to get his eyesight a little sharper.

He lifted his head up slightly from the floor, looking at the other side of the room. One of the activists was leaning against the wall and John could barely make out the smile playing on his lips. Clearly he was enjoying the pain Pyro went through as he was pushed against the hard floor, his broken ribs ached in pain as his body tried to lift itself up slightly so they would stop hurting. Pyro glared at the man in front of him and tried to identify the other objects in the room. A table, several chairs were shoved against the wall, clearly to make room for whatever they were planning to do with him.

Briefly, he saw the man take a puff from his cigarette before he let it fall on the floor and stamped it out with his foot, Pyro felt his right hand twitch slightly as he watched the small flame in the cigarette, John smirked from the inside and looked at floor and the cigarette, he would have to act quick if he would want to do something drastically.

He felt his head being pressed against the floor, causing him to wince in pain as his captor had just pushed on the head wound that he had received from them only a couple of days earlier. His hair was hanging in front of his eyes and he looked like he could faint every moment. But looks could be deceiving, within the second, Pyro winked at the cigarette, causing it to explode slightly and stir up the Activists who were already loosening their grip on him, thinking he would faint in a few seconds. Pyro took advantage of the ignorance and quickly shot up, calling some of the fire from the explosion to him and started to attack several of the Activists.

Pyro smirked and held the fire in his hand, watching it for a second before he threw it at one of the Activists who tried to come closer to him. The flames were burning in his eyes, he felt the fire consume him again, after being separated from it for such a long time, it was a welcoming thing. It was like he was finally complete again, his strength returned to him as he began to swirl the fire around him, his resource was almost gone so he had to hurry if he wanted to make a move. He shot another flame at the Activist standing against the wall in shock, not believing this was happening. He saw his friends being attacked by a, by flame ridden, St. John Allerdyce, by a mutant who was on the brick of fainting only minutes ago.

Pyro smirked as the man fainted after John supposedly missed and shot the fire ball just next to his head. Giggling slightly, John looked around the room and noticed everyone was unconscious, either from him attacking or just out of fear.

"Bunch of weaklings, the lot of them." Pyro muttered, shaking his head, limping towards the body at the other side of the room, now laying limp on the floor, John looked at the man, noticing a small piece of silver laying on the floor, which had clearly fallen out of the man's pocket. John smiled slightly, picking up the small object and inspecting it before he quickly pocketed it in the shorts he was wearing, luckily they had some secure pockets, big enough to hide the small lighter.

"What is going on here?" Another voice filled the room, causing Pyro to stand up and turn around quickly as he was still crouched down on the floor. He smirked at the man looking in shock before he summoned a small fire raging on the other side of the room, Pyro had subconsciously burned one of the chairs, making sure the fire would stay around so he had some sort of supply.

The man slowly walked in the room, keeping his eyes fixated on Pyro who stood in the middle of the room with a small fireball in the palm of his hand. But before he could do something, or even try to react, John felt a sharp pain at the top of his head. The fire in his hand extinguished as he fell on his knees and then continued to fall until his body hit the cemented floor.

"Nothing we can't handle." The Activist that had been unconscious a few minutes ago had clearly woken up by the voice of the older man and had sneaked up on John, hitting him on the head before he could hurt another innocent man. The two conscious men looked at Pyro before the younger man kicked the mutant in the ribs again and walked out of the room.

"That went well, we were supposed to film him while _he _was being tortured by _us. _Not the other way around." The older Activist shook his head and looked at the members sitting in front of him. Some of them were holding icepacks against their heads, groaning as their leader raised his voice slightly.

"At least we got it on film.." One of the younger ones answered, he was one of the few that had been smart enough to stay in the operation room where they controlled the camera instead of rushing in the room when Pyro had attacked them all. "We can still send it Magneto."

"And let him see how weak we really are?" One of the members with an icepack against his head asked, "No thank you, we would only make a complete fool out of ourselves."

"Did you see how easy we made Pyro stop? Just a small knock on the head and he was down. It shows how weak he is and besides, the fireballs weren't even his usual strength, he can do much stronger so be glad he was already weakened or you would've been dead for certain!" The older man said, sitting at the head of the table, "I say we send it to Magneto as soon as we can. I don't care how you get it to him, as long as he gets it."

With that being said, the older man shoved his chair backwards and stood up, walking out of the room and leaving the, somewhat younger, members alone to recover from the unexpected attack on their lives.

"He is right you know..." One of the members said, readjusting the ice pack against the burn wound on his arm while he looked around at his fellow Activist friends.

"Oh _shut up!_"

Magneto smiled slightly as he saw Pyro retaliate against the Activists. He shook his head, how stupid that man must've been to smoke when Pyro was in the room. Seeing the surprised faces of the enemy, Magneto felt pleased, happy to know that Pyro still had his element of surprise. The thing that worried Magneto the most is how Pyro was already panting from exhaustion after only briefly hurting the enemy, he was growing weaker and weaker by the minute, he looked dead on his feet, literally.

The dried up blood and the dirt that covered his pale skin was enough to worry anyone. The older man sighed as the camera was turned off just after Pyro's body fell on the floor, partly from exhaustion and partly because of the unexpected hit on the back of his head. Magneto sighed and shook his head, starting to get worried about the young boy's condition as he turned off the television, not wanting to watch it again.

"What are we going to do? We can't leave him there in that condition! He'll die for sure if we do!" Mystique's voice interrupted the pregnant silence that hung in the air. Magneto silenced her by raising his hand a little.

"For now, all we can do is try to find out where the room is located by the colour of the walls and the looks of it. Ask Callisto to try and detect any unusual mutant activities all around the world, that's the least we can do..for now."

Mystique nodded, sadness was clearly visible in her eyes as she bowed slightly before Magneto and walked out of the room, worrying about Pyro herself with the mental image of his recent condition going through her mind. She just hoped that, if they would eventually find him and get him out of there, that he would survive, at least long enough for him to see Rogue one last time. If they would ever find her again too.

_Becoming who we are_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer **: I don't own X-Men

**Extra note** : Sublime Angel, is my beta for this story, as well as my muse. She helped me through the though parts of this chapter and I love her for it. Thanks sugar!

**Thanks to **: _Paks_, _GabrielsDoubt_, _PyroWhore_, _FluidDegree_ and _RogueOnFire_ for reading the last chapter and reviewing, this is chapter 10 for all of you, 5 more chapters to go and this story is done, thank you for reviewing and if you haven't reviewed on the last chapters yet, do that as soon as possible okay?

Last Time

"What are we going to do? We can't leave him there in that condition! He'll die for sure if we do!" Mystique's voice interrupted the pregnant silence that hung in the air. Magneto silenced her by raising his hand a little.

"For now, all we can do is try to find out where the room is located by the color of the walls and the looks of it. Ask Callisto to try and detect any unusual mutant activities all around the world, that's the least we can do..for now."

Mystique nodded, sadness was clearly visible in her eyes as she bowed slightly before Magneto and walked out of the room, worrying about Pyro herself with the mental image of his recent condition going through her mind. She just hoped that, if they would eventually find him and get him out of there, that he would survive, at least long enough for him to see Rogue one last time. If they would ever find her again too.

Chapter 10

Gambit sighed and looked outside, the rain was still falling and there was a hard wind raging through the trees, making them shiver. The shadows of the leaves and the branches that shone into the dim-lighted house were enough to scare a small child, must he enter the house of course. Which not a lot of children did anyway. The house could be easily mistaken as a place where ghost gather. The garden had died completely, the grass and the tree placed in it hadn't been trimmed in ages. The once so white paint that covered the door was slowly rotting away and where once was glass was now wood to cover up the holes at some places. There were only a few windows left in their original state. But that was probably not for long since the wind was clearly raging harder and harder each day.

Because of the storm raging through the small town at the foot of a mountain, Remy had been unable to contact anyone from the Brotherhood last night, and so, unable to inform them that Rogue was in his care and that she needed some better medical support. He had done what he could for her wounds but they needed better treatment than he could give them. And the only one he knew who could was the now deceased, Jean Grey and Mystique, who stayed at the Brotherhood's base as medical officer at all times. Unless Magneto send her out on a mission. Who got hurt then just had to wait until she got back from the mission, which usually took a couple of days.

Gambit sighed again and rubbed his tired eyes, looking at Rogue who had decided she would occupy the couch in the living room instead of being locked up in the room all the time all by herself. He smiled sadly at her and knew that he would have to make sure she arrived at the base without any extra injuries, or without being caught by the Activists, who had already searched the whole town after a mutant girl. The citizens were ignorant to the fact that there were two mutants living in their town, in the deserted house nonetheless. After a couple of days of knocking on almost every door in the town, they just gave up and realized that the girl must've moved on after a few days.

"Alright, now to find some transport to get the hell out of here." Gambit muttered to himself. Rogue shifted in her sleep and woke up a few seconds later, slowly sitting up on the couch and rubbing her tired eyes. Briefly, she winced in pain as her wounds ached again. She kept insisting on helping around the house, but Gambit restricted her to sleeping and eating so she wouldn't hurt herself even more. Moving around wasn't a good idea if your body was trying to heal itself slowly. Even though she had Wolverine's healing powers, the process of the wounds healing themselves went slow.

"What day is it?" Rogue asked, finally fixing her eyes on Remy who had sat down on other couch in the mean time. He looked at the watch around his wrist, it looked expensive but Rogue knew that it probably wasn't.

"Friday." Gambit said, "10 am if you want to know the time too." He added with a small smile playing on his lips. Rogue chuckled a little and winced in pain as she swung her legs over the side of the couch so she was sitting more comfortable. Remy shook his head at her, frowning. He was wondering why the healing process was taking so long. Usually Wolverine healed within the minute.

"Trust me, I have no idea why its taking so long either, probably because my body isn't used to healing such an amount of wounds all at once." Rogue shrugged, thinking up of the only logical reason. Gambit nodded and stood up, telling her he would go to the town a little further away and try to find some transport to get to the Brotherhood's base. Rogue nodded tiredly and leaned back on the couch so she was more comfortable. Gambit handed over her book she had placed on the table the night before and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he left the, previously abandoned, house.

**X**

"I still don't get how you got this car from the guy without having to show your ID and all of that." Rogue said, looking out of the window of the, somewhat older but still in a good shape, SUV. It was an older model, dark green of color and looked like it could collapse any moment but it was good enough for them. The base wasn't that far away anyway and the car could hold on for another couple of hours until they arrived there. Gambit shrugged and kept his eyes on the road, which was glistering in the sun, caused by the rain from the previous day.

"Stupid rain." Gambit muttered under his breath, causing Rogue to giggle a little before she closed her eyes and tried to get some more sleep, or focus on healing her body, Remy could never tell. He just hoped that Mystique would be at the base since Rogue could use her help now. Both on the mothering part and on the healing part. Gambit smiled and looked at a sleeping Marie next to him for a few seconds, noting that her breathing had slowed down made him decide that she was asleep.

"We're going to get you on your feet again Cherie, don't worry." He whispered, taking Rogue's hand in his for a moment and gave it a small squeeze before he turned his eyes back on the road. He just hoped he could get there sooner.

**X**

"How is it that we still don't know where the hell he is?" Magneto's voice asked as Callisto and Mystique were standing in front of his desk. In all honest opinions, Callisto looked frightened by the anger reflected in Erik's eyes but Mystique was calm, as if she knew he would've reacted like that. Magneto sighed and leaned back in chair, rubbing his temple as a small headache started to form.

"Either they are hiding him outside my range or they are doing something that causes me to fail at sensing him. Those are the only two explanations I know." Callisto said in a small voice, hoping that it would satisfy Magneto and keep him from lashing out. Magneto nodded and sighed, waving his hand to tell them to leave him alone. Mystique and Callisto bowed before him before the two women walked out of the room in complete silence.

Mystique parted from Callisto half-way through, making her way slowly to the medical bay (her usual location around the base whenever she didn't have something else to do). Greeting some of the other mutants on her way, she couldn't help but keep everything to herself and feel rather down. She just wished she could do more than just sit in the base and wait for a sign, anything that could help them to save either Rogue or Pyro.

And even though she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, or who was passing by. She couldn't help but notice a familiar long dark brown coat swirling behind a man with wild hair and a fold up stick hanging from his belt. She frowned and stopped in the middle of the hallway, turning around and facing Gambit's back since he was still turned away from her.

"Gambit? Back so early?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the man. Gambit stopped walking but didn't turn around for a few seconds. He looked over his shoulder and showed her a tired smile.

"Just wondering where you were Cherie." Gambit said, the bags under his eyes were enough proof for Mystique that he had been awake for quite some time now. "I need your help down there." He continued, nodding towards the closed door of the medical bay. Mystique frowned and nodded, following him towards the room where she gasped a little when she saw Rogue laying on the table, her wounds covered up with bandages (which were stained by several spots of blood, caused my the movements she had done during their travel towards the base).

"You found her?" Mystique whispered as she stroke Marie's hair and placed some of it behind her ears so she could have a clear look at the face of the young girl.

"She found me. Cherie escaped all on her own before she bumped into me." Gambit said, explaining what had happened. "I tried to contact you sooner but the storm prevented me from making contact."

Mystique didn't answer, nor did she hear what he had just said to her but she nodded anyway. Her focus was on Rogue, the bandages soaked in blood and the state she was in. Gambit opened his mouth to say something again but realized soon enough that Raven wasn't listening to him. He nodded and walked over to Rogue, taking her hand in his and giving it a soft squeeze before he looked at Mystique.

Her chocolate brown eyes were filled with shock and perhaps, a little sadness? Gambit was never that good in reading eyes anyway so he gave up before he tried to go deeper in the subject. He bend down and pressed his lips against Rogue's forehead before he left her alone in Mystique's care, promising himself that he would visit her the moment he had freshened up. Whether she was awake or not. He was going to stay by her side.

"I'm going to report about the state of business with Magneto. Take good care of her will you?" Gambit asked, looking over his shoulder at Mystique and an unconscious Rogue. Mystique looked over her own shoulder and showed him a smile before she nodded. Gambit nodded back and walked out of the room, wondering if Rogue knew what was going on in the first place. He had carried her into the base after they had arrived (since she was still asleep and he couldn't bear it to wake her up since she needed it more than he did).

He shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk towards Magneto's office, wondering how he was going to tell him about finding Rogue and the state she was in right now. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, letting his hands trail of his tired face and then let his fingers go through his messy hair before he shook his head, trying to wake up some more. Although, before he could knock the door, it opened itself. Magneto sat in his chair, waiting for Gambit to decide and enter the room.

"I have news sir." He said, nodding at the older mutant as some sort of greeting, he had never been one for traditions and bowing before speaking.

"News?" Magneto asked, looking up from the papers on his desk and deciding to face the French mutant. Gambit started playing with his sleeve, looking rather nervous and thought on how he should tell this.

"Rogue is back.."  
_  
As my memory rests_


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer **: I don't own X-Men

**Extra note** : Sublime Angel, is my beta for this story, as well as my muse. She helped me through the though parts of this chapter and I love her for it. Thanks sugar!

**Thanks to **: _Thillia, GabrielsDoubt, PyroWhore, Mignun _and_ Ratdogtwo _for reviewing on the last chapter, sorry for the shortness of this chapter, I assure you that next chapter will be longer and so will the following chapters ;-) 4 more to go and this story comes to an end, I wrote the last chapter a few days ago and I hope that, when the time comes to post that last one, you will all love it. If you haven't reviewed on last chapter yet, please do so, reviews make me smile and also encourages me to update quicker!

_Last Time_

"I have news sir." He said, nodding at the older mutant as some sort of greeting, he had never been one for traditions and bowing before speaking.

"News?" Magneto asked, looking up from the papers on his desk and deciding to face the French mutant. Gambit started playing with his sleeve, looking rather nervous and thought on how he should tell this.

"Rogue is back.."

**Chapter 11 **

"I didn't find her though. She found me, collided with me in the middle of the street she did. Not really in a good shape but I managed to keep her alive until we arrived here," Gambit continued.

Magneto looked at Gambit with a strange look on his face. He leaned back in his chair and suddenly turned silent. The mutant shifted slightly and avoided Magneto's gaze that made him look like he was thousand light years away.

Gambit started to fiddle with the sleeves of his coat a little, not knowing what to say next. Magneto took a deep breath and leaned forward before nodding slowly, progressing the information and his thoughts in a few seconds before he stood up and walked up from behind his desk. His footsteps were the only sound heard in the empty room before he left it, leaving Gambit alone. Remy looked over his shoulder at the still open door where Magneto had disappeared through a few seconds ago and sighed. At least that was over, he thought as he walked out of the door himself, running a gloved hand through his hair.

The older mutant watched the girl on the hospital cot. She had looked better, that's for sure, if only they had found her sooner, perhaps she wouldn't be unconscious in the medical ward then, Magneto quickly dismissed the feeling of guilt away from him, for now they found her, that's all that mattered, now to get Pyro back to them.

But the mystery around her and her disappearance together with Pyro hung like a shadow above them. Magneto placed his hand on her forehead while his eyes scanned the various visible wounds that graced her small body. His dark navy blue cape was draped over his other arm, securely pressed against his chest so he wouldn't be bothered by it.

"How long has she been unconscious?" Magneto asked Mystique who gracefully walked in the room with a syringe in her hand. For a second, his mind wondered what was in it but that was irrelevant at that point, as long as he could get information about what he wanted to know, he didn't care what the blue woman did to the girl laying in front of him. Some would say he was heartless, but he was sure Rogue would agree with him if he told her that the information she had about her captors could help them find Pyro.

"According to Remy, she fainted in the car just an hour after they left," Mystique said, "and they were on the road for over the 24 hours so at least a day," she inserted whatever was in the syringe into Rogue's bloodstream and checked the monitors attached to the young girl with several sensors. "She should wake up soon though."

"Alert me when she is fit enough to talk," Magneto said, nodding and stealing a last glance at Rogue before walking out of the room with heavy steps. Mystique looked at the girl and smiled sadly, letting out a silent sigh. Her heart hoped that she would be alright, both her and Pyro.

* * *

"You called me sir?" a young man poked his head in the small office, decorated with black-and-white pictures and a desk that was occupied by an older man with icy blue eyes and dark brown hair. The man looked up at his visitor and smiled warmly at him, motioning him to come closer.

"Yes, I was wondering how things are going with our latest..pet," the man asked, smirking a little at the nickname for the mutant in cell 924 (or at least, that was what the file on his desk said).

"He is currently unconscious sir, he has been for the past few days, we're not sure if he'll wake up anytime soon," the younger man answered. Toby was his name, with his stealthy green eyes hid behind black locks of hair.

"Tell me. How long has he been our captive?" the older man asked after a few seconds of silence between him and Toby.

"Two months sir. However, he still hasn't shown anything that would reveal any vital information," Toby answered truthfully, keeping his eyes on the floor and his feet. He bit his lip and started fiddling with the long sleeves of his green shirt, part of his uniform that he was forced to wear much to his complains, Toby had never been one for uniforms and before he joined them he was never forced to wear one, until now that is.

The older man, who went by the name of Patrick (or at least, thats what the older recruits had told Toby, not that it really mattered to him) nodded slowly and turned his eyes back to the file in front of him. He looked rather interested by the printed words on the paper, containing some information about the young boy in cell 924 that no one else knew. What Patrick didn't know however, was that young Toby had a plan up his sleeve that could bring him in a lot of trouble.

"Double everything except his food. Until. He. Talks," Patrick said in a slow voice that send shivers down Toby's spine. The younger recruit's face fell as he thought of the young mutant in cell 924.

You see, Toby was only a year older than the mutant, and knowing that he was being treated extra severely just because he knew something more than the other mutants captured and hid behind doors in the facility, disturbed the young recruit. Toby knew better than to object against his peers and hid the sadness and pity for the boy as he searched the right cell.

Two guards were safely positioned next to each side of the door, looking around at the few people passing in the hallway and looking rather bored even though they didn't particularly show it. Toby nodded at them and told them the new orders, knowing that the boy was already in pain and that this would only bring him closer to death. Not that he would feel it in the unconscious state he was in now.

"He has woken up an hour ago," the guard on the left of the door said as he opened it and let Toby walk into the room, almost wanting to walk out again by just the smell alone, how could they even think of keeping someone in a cell like this? He wondered briefly about that fact but decided that it was irrelevant but yet, a sign to tell him that he should hurry up with that little plan of his.

Pyro groaned when the bright light from the hallway scared away the darkness in his cell. Vague figures of people reached out for him before he was once again, dragged out of his cell by force. Hearing another voice coming from the hallway and talking to his guards, Pyro realized that there was a third man. His eyesight was blurry and unfocused, making it difficult for him to see how the man looked like. Toby looked at the mutant for a while, making eye contact with the young boy for a few seconds before he was dragged away towards the interrogation cell.

John's body slid on the floor as he felt the blood taste in his mouth. The mutant winced and tried to lift himself up to fight back but no avail, his body had weakened and left his helpless against the two violent guards. Laughter of the two men reached his ear. They were enjoying this, throwing him against the wall to see him squirm.

The third person, who Pyro still hadn't identified said something. Whichever it was, it caused the guards to leave the room merely a few seconds later, a thing Pyro was very grateful for. His body was already weakened and he didn't need it to be damaged more. The change of him surviving this ordeal was pretty slim already, any more wounds or internal bleedings would cause it to become even smaller.

"Now tell me. What do you need, to get out of here." The third voice asked, bending down so he could see John's face better, or at least, thats what Pyro could make out from the blurry face that was hovering above his own.

The mutant blinked a few times, trying to progress the fact that this man made it look like he was trying to help him. He frowned and tried to stay conscious as his brain progressed the new information.

"I don't need your help." Pyro spat, "You're the reason I got here. You and your little mutant-hating friends."

The man sighed and ran a hand through his thick black hair (a detail Pyro could make out from the vague outline of the person) and shook his head.

"Magneto was right," the person muttered to himself, standing back up and looking at Pyro who was trying to stand up, using the wall – and failing miserably at it – to stand up. "This is going to be hard."

* * *

alright people, you know what to do now, press the button and leave me a short review, just let me know what you think of this story or the chapter! Next update should come soon, don't worry, chapter 12 is going to be longer than this one, I promise you!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer : **I don't own X-men, I just got this plot in my head

**Thanks :** _CMT1992_, _RogueOnFire_ and _Ratdogtwo, _for reviewing on the last (short) chapter, as promised, this one is longer and I hope you all enjoy reading this one, I'm not that sure about it for some reason but I'm not sure about my writing lately so it'll be that and not the chapter (hopefully!) please read and leave a review m'kay? Reviews make me smile and I can't lie!

* * *

_Last Time_

"I don't need your help." Pyro spat, "You're the reason I got here. You and your little mutant-hating friends."

The man sighed and ran a hand through his thick black hair (a detail Pyro could make out from the vague outline of the person) and shook his head.

"Magneto was right." The person muttered to himself, standing back up and looking at Pyro who was trying to stand up, using the wall – and failing miserably at it – to stand up. "This is going to be hard."

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Pyro stumbled through the door, his breathing rapid and irregular. His body was protesting with every small movement he made but he couldn't stop now. The building behind him was raging in the fire he had created. How exactly he had done it was still a wonder to him. He looked back over his shoulder at the raging fire, taking it in and a small smile appeared on his chapped lips. The cold outside was soothing to his burn wounds that he had received by the part of the fire that he didn't control. He just hoped that, whoever had helped with escaping was going to be alright.

For the past few days, he had been tortured, thrown around and abused, interrogated and there he was, still standing on his feet after weeks, probably months of enduring it every day. His heart was throbbing in his chest while his body was aching and refusing to make another movement. He forced himself to walk further down, his feet turning cold by the snow surrounding him. His head was bleeding and the blood was slowly trailing down his dirty cheek while his, previously brownish blond hair but now dirty hair stuck to his scalp and wounds.

His mind was on Rogue, envisioning her while he walked through the trees of the small piece of forest surrounding his whereabouts. He just wished to hold her in his arms, kiss her on the top of her head and whisper to her that everything would be alright. But first he would have to make it out alive, which could cause a problem since the cold surrounding him just made his body weaker.

John stumbled through the snow, using several of the trees to support his body. Bruises covered his arms, his chest and stomach. His wounds were infected and his back was covered in slashes caused by the whip. He was sure that several of his ribs were broken, if not popped, causing his movement to be limited in fear for damaging his body even more. He was convinced that he had several internal bleedings and had a strange feeling washing over himself, telling him that he would not make out of this alive if he didn't get to the base in time.

He heard shouts from behind him, making him panic slightly as he tried to pick up his pace and knew that he would have to hurry to make sure he could escape. He wasn't sure whether they were screams of fear for the fire or screams to alert the others that he was escaping but that was not his main priority right now. His goal was to get out of their sight and make sure they didn't find him.

His eyes scanned his surroundings, wishing that he knew where he was or know how to contact anyone from the Brotherhood. But that would be too dangerous, Pyro knew this as well as anyone did. If you're in trouble and there is a small chance that you are being followed by the enemy, don't contact anyone or endanger someone else, that was the rule and he had learned it the hard way. He just hoped that Rogue would be alright.

He stumbled forward, almost falling down in the snow but managing to put his foot in front of his falling body and so stop himself from hitting the ground and damage his body even further. His mind was racing, was he being followed? How long had he been held captive? Was Magneto worried that he would spill anything essential to the Brotherhood? Did anyone really care enough about him to try and find out where he was?

Thousands of questions entered his mind, and all of them only had one purpose, keep his mind of the throbbing pain of his wounds and the biting cold taking over his body as he walked further through the trees.

He knew that it would be better for him if he got his wounds treated, even thoughh they were already infected, they still bled from time to time, especially the nasty head wound he had received in one of the first days. It was also the main reason why his cheek was covered in trails of blood and laying on the floor of his dirty cell had only caused the wound to be surrounded by dirt and so, infect.

A throbbing headache took over his mind as he noticed that his eyesight turned blurry. The lack of energy and food in his stomach was starting to take its toll on his already fragile and thin body. The screams behind him were starting to fade out, much to his relief.

His hand clenched his other arm and so, tried to stop another wound from bleeding but no avail. His fingers were slightly covered in blood as it trailed down his arm and fell down, spotting the blinding white snow with a red colour.

Pyro walked further, ignoring the blood seeping from several wounds and the throbbing headache while his heart was racing and his breathing was shallow. Turning around so he could see how far he was from the burning base, he sighed in relief as the base was out of sight already. He was slightly surprised by the time it took him to make sure he was out of sight but decided that he would have to walk just a little bit further.

Hearing the sound of other people, women and men chatting with each other and cars passing, Pyro knew that he was finally in safe territory. He leaned with his back against a tree, wincing in pain as it connected with the wounds on his back and slowly sat down, resting his eyes while his hand was still clenching his left arm. The snow had faded away as he reached the civil world, for which he was grateful at the least.

He just had to get out of there as soon as possible.

Mystique walked in the medical bay, looking through some of the test results of the blood she had taken of Rogue. Her wounds were treated and her breathing had calmed down. Her heart had reached the normal rate and the young girl was finally breathing on her own. Which was a great relief to both Mystique and Gambit, and perhaps, also a bit to the relief of Erik. He was rather nervous whenever Rogue's condition was discussed around him.

Rogue blinked several times, defying the blinding white light shining above her head. She groaned and turned her head away, realizing that the headache she had only increased by the sudden movement. She heard some movement on the other side of the room but tried to ignore it as a wave of dizziness took over her senses.

She started to feel nauseous but tried not to act on the feeling and put her head back the way it was before so could face the ceiling again, keeping her eyes half-closed in an attempt to block out the bright light shining in them.

She muttered some profanities under her breath and tried to sit up on the medical table but realized that her hands were tied up. Rogue sighed and tried to break free from them, only hurting herself.

"How are you feeling hon'?" Rogue heard a sweet voice say before the light above her was slightly dimmed. She smiled a little and looked at the person who had talked to her, slightly recognizing her but knowing that her blurry eyesight was troubling her with seeing who it was.

"Where am I?" Rogue said in a rather raspy voice. She sighed and tried to keep in a small yawn as a hand brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"You're safe again my dear. Rest, you'll need your strength," the voice said. Rogue blinked a couple of times, trying to get rid of the blur and started to recognize the female hovering over her. She smiled grateful at Mystique but shook her head. Mystique sighed and knew that it would be no avail to try and make her go to sleep when it was against her will.

Slowly, Mystique released Rogue's wrists from the restrains and helped her sit up, making her drink some water to help her with her soar throat.

"Where is John? Is he alright?" Rogue asked after taking a long sip from the water. Mystique sighed and placed the glass back on the small table next to the medical table Rogue was occupying.

"We still don't know _where_ he is but at the moment, it doesn't look good for him. At least not from what we've seen on the video send by the Activists," Mystique said, hating to be the bringer of bad news to the young girl. Rogue blinked several times, tears brimming in the corner of her eyes as she progressed what Mystique had just told her.

"What do you mean, you don't know where he is? I mean, can't Callisto feel him?" Rogue asked throwing her arms in the air and forgetting that her body was actually too weak and protested against the movement.

"Either he is well hidden or his strength is too weak at the moment to locate him," Mystique said sadly but hid it rather well before she pushed Rogue back so she could lay down on the medical table. Before Rogue could actually protest and say anything back to Mystique or just voice her thoughhts, the two girls were interrupted by Magneto entering the room.

Rogue sighed and knew what was coming now, she wasn't really feeling like it, her head was killing her (probably her own fault since she yelled and sat up so quickly) and her body was still healing itself. She nodded to Magneto but refused to meet his eye as she kept her own fixated on the floor, not really feeling like looking up and be polite.

"I guess you're here to either give me flowers or to ask me what happened. And since you're not the type of guy who would give flowers, not forgetting that you don't have any with you right now, makes the latter the only option," Rogue said, finally looking up and raising an eyebrow at Magneto who looked rather taken back by her first words to him.

"We'll make this easy for the both of us," Rogue started again after a few moments, in the mean time, Mystique had chosen to leave the room in order to give Magneto and Rogue some privacy while they talked.

"You tell me what I need to know, and I'll tell you what I want to know," the young girl nodded, swinging her legs over the side of the medical cot and placing her hands behind her back, slightly leaning on them and trying not to hurt herself.

Magneto sighed and nodded, seeing that he didn't have another choice, Rogue could be rather convincing when she wanted too and she knew it, using it whenever she could or needed to know something.

"Just tell me what happened that day and don't act difficult," Magneto said, taking one of the chairs and sitting down in it while facing Rogue.

"We got ambushed, what do you think happened?" Rogue shot back, glaring a little at Magneto. Pyro was somewhere out there, probably under the same circumstances as Rogue had been, perhaps even worse and she was kept in the medical bay of the Brotherhood, being interrogated by Magneto instead of searching for him.

Erik raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms in front of his chest, Rogue didn't look impressed by his stance but chose to copy it, looking at him with a bored expression playing on her lips as she wasn't really happy with the situation.

"I'm not spilling anything until you tell me _where_ and _how_ Pyro is doing at this moment," Rogue said in a low whisper, glaring at Magneto and bending forward a little to make sure she could make some good eye contact and he could see that she meant it.

"Pyro is..not doing well, that's all I can say right now," Magneto gave in, not really telling her what he had seen on the video send to them by the activists where Pyro was looking worse than death. Rogue glared at him, like she was feeling the little fact that he wasn't telling her everything but she accepted it and sat back down, looking a little worn out by the fact that her body was still healing.

"We were ambushed alright? They stormed our neighbourhood but we never expected them to find us in our apartment like that. Althoughh we were prepared for it and were ready to run. They found us and entered our apartment, shooting and shouting to the others that they have found some mutants," Rogue explained, not wanting to meet Magneto's eye. She could remember everything from that day, the events replaying in her mind as she thoughht about it.

"Let's just say that Pyro distracted them by putting the whole building on fire using the little effect of gas in the room," Rogue glared a little at a spot in the room, clenching her teeth together and attempting to stop the tears from forming in her eyes as she thoughht about the last glance she had shared with the man she loved.

"He told me to run while he was keeping them busy," Rogue said in a low whisper, tears brimming in her eyes as she saw his convincing eyes in her mind.

"I ran and managed to get to the front door before I blacked out and woke up with the Activists," she said, ending her story.

"And as you can see, they weren't particularly _nice_, I'm damn sure that John is having a much harder time than I am so you better move your ass and go and find him as soon as you can!"

Magneto frowned and wondered when she had gotten such a mouth at him but let it go, knowing how concerned she was about Pyro right now. If she had been a new recruit, she would never have dared to say that, not even when the life of the man she loved was on the line, but ever since she had joined them (courtesy of Pyro) she had been rather rebelish against Magneto, not really caring what he thoughht of her as long as he did the things that were necessary, and so, she never backed down from him unless Pyro was warning her not to push it any further.

He sighed and knew he should've expected something like this coming from the brown-haired girl who had chosen to lay down on the bed, claiming that her headache was killing her even though she had only muttered it and not really expected Magneto to hear it.

"All I'm telling you now is that he isn't in a good shape and that we're doing everything to find him," Magneto said, "now get some rest, Pyro would kill us if we didn't treat you the way you should be treated."

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer : **I don't own X-Men

**Thanks to the reviewers : **_Thilia_, _RogueOnFire_, _Moonwolf27_, _Ratdogtwo_ and _PyroWhore_

* * *

_Last Time_

"All I'm telling you now is that he isn't in a good shape and that we're doing everything to find him," Magneto said, "Now get some rest, Pyro would kill us if we didn't treat you the way you should be treated."

Pyro walked further, ignoring the blood seeping from several wounds and the throbbing headache while his heart was racing and his breathing was shallow. Turning around so he could see how far he was from the burning base, he sighed in relief as the base was out of sight already. He was slightly surprised by the time it took him to make sure he was out of sight but decided that he would have to walk just a little bit further.

* * *

**13.**

Rogue was finally released from the medical bay but she was risking the fact that Mystique would just send her back, even if it was only to force her to eat something or to come out of her room for more than several cups of coffee each day. The girl placed her hands in the back of her neck and kept facing her ceiling, ignoring the chattering outside her door of voices she recognized as Mystique and Wanda. Everyone close to Rogue had been trying to get her out of her room for more than a couple of hours a day, but with no avail. Marie kept herself locked up in her room and ignored all the pleas coming from her mother whenever she was at her door.

"Rogue, come on! You can't keep yourself locked up like this," Wanda said, leaning against the door and sinking down so she could sit on the floor. Mystique sighed and knocked on the door again, trying to get the attention of her daughter so she would at least open the door. What surprised them greatly when she decided to do so and she actually looked good. Then Mystique was reminded that Pyro had one of the bathrooms adjoined to his bedroom and of course, this was a great advantage to Rogue who loved taking a shower when she was thinking.

"The knocking on my door is giving me a headache so you better stop it," Rogue replied with a small glare before she moved to close the door again but Wanda stood up quick enough and stuck her foot between the door and the door frame, stopping Rogue from doing so. Marie frowned and looked at the foot and then at Wanda before trying to close the door again but failing.

"Either you'll stop wallowing in self-pity and get your damn act together by eating and getting out of your damn room or I'm going to knock some sense in you!" Wanda said, glaring slightly at Rogue who glared back but gave in defeated before she sighed and shook her head, walking back to her bed and not caring about closing the door as she laid down on it and faced the ceiling.

Wanda and Mystique shared a worried glance before they silently walked in the room and crossed it to accompany Rogue on the bed. Mystique looked sympathetic at her daughter and rubbed her arm, letting her know that she was there if she needed her. The three women got some odd glances coming from Quicksilver passing by in the hallway but a glare from Wanda luckily scared him away before he could do any more damage.

"Come on, Pyro wouldn't want you to act like this even if he was here, get out of your room and do things instead of wasting your time doing nothing at all," Wanda said, trying to reason with Rogue who suddenly shot up from her position on the bed and ran out of the room with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Well, I didn't expect that to happen," Mystique muttered under her breath before she followed Rogue on a slower pace while Wanda chose to leave and join the rest of the Brotherhood in the living room, playing video games and doing whatever they could do while being locked up in this metal base.

Entering Magneto's room, Rogue ran to his desk and got him out of his concentration by slamming the palms of her hand on his desk and glaring at him. Magneto looked up from his papers and stopped the metal balls clicking against each other before he raised an eyebrow at Rogue and the state she was in.

For being locked up in a room for the last couple of days and not eating, the girl looked rather good non the less, if not a tad skinny from the lack of food, the bags under her eyes were the only sign that she had a lack of sleep from worrying too much.

"And to what do I own the pleasure of finally seeing you Rogue?"

"You had a video from the Activists right?" Magneto frowned, not seeing where she was trying to go with this conversation. Rogue's glare softened before she opened her mouth again.

"Can I see it?" she asked, noticing that Magneto and Mystique exchanged worried glances between each other, not really knowing if she was able to handle the video or not. Rogue followed Magneto's gaze and also looked at Mystique for a moment before she sighed and let her head hang low.

"I can handle it, trust me, I went through the same thing," Rogue tried to tell them but Mystique shook her head as response.

"Honey, it's not the same, Pyro went through worse things than you and only seeing him in the state he's in could hurt you," Mystique tried to explain, placing a hand on her daughters shoulder who took a step back and looked Mystique straight in the eye.

"I can handle it," she muttered, shaking her head and looking as confident as she could but even that couldn't hide the fear of what she might see.

"Alright then," Magneto said before he stalked out of the room, leaving Mystique and Rogue alone. Mystique looked at Marie with worry shining in her eyes and while she observed her daughter in those few seconds she watched her, she saw that the girl was mentally preparing herself of seeing the man she loved being tortured and knowing that it might not help one bit on the way of finding him.

Before all of this happened, the two had a special bond, they could almost feel where the other was, but ever since they've been separated, that bond had started to fade away, not only because they lost contact with each other but also because they were so mentally, but more physically, abused.

Mystique smiled sadly at Rogue and placed her hand on her shoulder before leading her towards the room where she would be able to watch the video, even though both of the adults agreed that it was a bad idea, then again, this was Rogue and she could kill you by just touching you once she got it in her head. Both Magneto and Mystique as well as the rest of the Brotherhood, learned that it wasn't a smart idea to anger Rogue when something was on her mind and she absolutely wanted to go through with it. A few months prior to the attack, she got Quicksilver in the hospital wing of the base because he just wouldn't give her cup of coffee back after she had returned from a mission.

Watching the video had to be the hardest thing Rogue ever had to do. Her eyes were fixated on the screen as she watched the footage flying by in mere seconds, a proud smile appearing on her lips as she saw him fight back but tears springing in her eyes at the end as the screen went blank again. Closing her eyes, Rogue bit her lip and shook her head, pulling her legs up to her chest as she buried her head in her knees and tried to steady her breathing. Magneto and Mystique shared a glance at each other before Magneto decided to leave the room so Rogue could talk to Mystique in private.

"You were right, I couldn't handle watching it," Rogue muttered, whipping away some tears from her cheeks as she looked up to her mother who looked rather proud of her.

"You held out longer than others Rogue, I'm proud of you, if I was in your place, I would've ran out of the room long ago."

"Yet, I should keep strong for him, but look at me, look at what I'm doing to myself," Rogue said, hanging her head low.

Mystique shook her head in response and pulled Rogue in a hug as she rocked her daughter back and forth, whispering some comforting words in her ear as the girl let out the tears she had been holding in for the past few days.

"Is he still alive?" a young girl's voice asked as she poked the young boy leaning against the tree with his eyes closed and his forehead and cheeks covered with blood. The elder boy that stood next to her pulled her back but couldn't stop the girl from sinking down to her knees and trying to look into the wounded boy's eyes before poking him again. John opened his eyes and jumped up, shielding his face with his hands but glaring at the two children over his hand.

After glaring at them for a few seconds and looking at them for anything that could be dangerous to him, he lowered his arm and stalked away without another word, leaving the boy shocked and the girl near tears as she had fallen on the floor in shock to his waking up and jumping away from them.

Pyro was lucky, for all he knew the children could've called their parents and asked for their help to get him to somewhere where he could heal and get better. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to escape that facility then, John prized him lucky indeed as he stumbled over the road to the other side of the town so he wouldn't be spotted by friendly town people who had the desire of helping a stray man like him.

Then again, who would want to help John Allerdyce? He didn't exactly look like the best company to bring home to your mother and he had always praised himself for falling in love with Mystique's daughter, knowing that he wouldn't have any problems with the in-laws then. He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair and sighed, hoping that he would find some sort of shelter or at least a safe-haven for mutants as soon as possible, he wasn't sure how much longer his body could hold on like this. He had been lucky enough to escape with the help of the mutant inside, even though he had no clue what the boy, as he had found out was named Toby before he escaped, was dealing with now or how he had even managed to help him like that but he was grateful. Just the fact that the young mutant was familiar with Magneto and so, probably also Pyro, gave John the sense of safety whenever he had been around the boy.

Alas, he had been forced to leave Toby out there at the base all by himself, knowing that he'll be able to handle himself and that his own health was more important than anything right now, perhaps he could convince Magneto to go after Toby when he got back at the base, it was the least he could do.

He wondered where Rogue was, if she was alright and if she had been taken care of if she managed to escape from wherever she had been held captive. He smiled briefly at the thought of his southern belle before he winced in pain as he realized that he shouldn't have tried to run to get things moving. Thinking of Rogue might keep his mind of everything bad right now but it also made him forget the fact that he was badly wounded and even though he was thinking of his girl, that wouldn't stop the wounds from hurting as he ran or starting to bleed as he pushed himself too far.

Looking at some of the road signs, he saw something familiar that made him sigh in relief as he stalked further down the road. One of the cities mentioned had an outfall base of the Brotherhood, it was one of their older bases before they had settled in the woods where their current one was and it had always been deserted, perfect to get back some of his strength before he would continue to travel towards the current base.

He just hoped that there wouldn't be anyone there, traveling when he was this wounded would never be allowed by anyone who knew him or at least knew who he was, he would be forced to stay there until he was healthy again and Pyro himself knew that there wasn't much time for that. He could heal later, right now his priority was to get to the base and tell Magneto what he knew, even though that wasn't much, at least he could warn him for a possible attack on the base once the Activists found out where the base was.

It was morning, a little bit before noon, or so he observed as he looked at the sky and the sun so he had plenty of time to reach the abandoned base, even though he'd have to reach it before nightfall, the neighborhood the base was in wasn't the most safe one in the city and being wounded as he was, he wouldn't even win against a kid if he was faced with a criminal or anyone else.

His stomach grumbled from lack of food. He hadn't exactly prepared for something like this and it wasn't like he could make food appear out of nowhere, right now, he would kill to have Nightcrawler power to just transport in a blue cloud of smoke in a matter of seconds or just something to eat or drink to strengthen up his tired and worn out body. He sighed and sat down on the side of the road, falling down in the dirty grass and resting his eyes, knowing that he had walked a big part already and waking up this morning hadn't exactly been gently.

Of course, a wounded mutant laying on the side of the road, that had a lot of cars passing wasn't such a good sight and soon, John moved again, making sure that he wouldn't get caught by the Activists, who were either wallowing in self-pity for losing him or searching everywhere to find him again. He felt the eyes of people from the cars on his eyes as he stumbled alongside the road and tried not to faint on the spot while his wounds were bleeding and leaving a trail on the asphalt of the road.

Of course, as the time reached noon and the sun was burning on his wounded skin, Pyro had no choice but to find shelter soon before his condition got any worse, walking in this state was bad enough but he didn't need a sunburn on top of it. He briefly wondered how the weather could change so quickly, the previous day he had been walking in the snow, almost freezing to death and now here he was, walking in the burning sun alongside a road where people just couldn't stop staring at him.

Just what I need, he thought, more attention. He glared at some of the cars that slowed down, probably with the intention of asking him if he needed help but the glare was enough to send them away again, he smirked and stopped walking for a second, looking around and seeing no way out than to walk along the road a little longer.

He wondered how far it was until he would reach the city, once he got there, he was sure he would be able to meet at least someone that could help him get up on his feet again until he got back to the current base, but he also knew that the thought of helping mutants wasn't in a lot of people's head present. It was a dangerous thing to do and most of the people rather avoided the trouble of helping them. Then again, John knew several people in the town that had never been exactly against mutants and hoped that they wouldn't have changed their minds since last time.

Thankfully, Pyro managed to make it to the city without any problem, well, except falling down several times and probably breaking his nose during the process and having to scare away several people who were trying to make him understand they wanted to help him, everything had gone perfectly fine and he was glad to be surrounded by familiar sights, making it easier for him to find his way. Of course, it had been a while since he had last been here so he had to think twice as long to find out where the places where that he needed.

"Hey buddy, you alright there?"

Pyro looked up from the floor and was faced with an older man who looked familiar to him but he couldn't place it, he shook his head and limped away to the way he should be going. He heard the man sigh and just knew that he was shaking his head as he limped further away from the older man behind him.

"When are you going to learn Pyro, if help is offered to you, you should accept it even though it might not always turn out good."

John looked up from his feet and turned his head so he could watch the man behind him as a frown was clearly visible on his blood ridden face. The man looked sad at the young boy and walked towards him before he grabbed John's arm and swung it over his shoulder, holding on to the boy by his waist as he helped him limp towards a small house a little further away.

"And here I thought you were so good with faces, I really thought you'd recognize me," the man said with a teasing smirk on his lips. John huffed and took a painful breath as the man's hand reached one of the wounds at his waist without knowing it.

"I'm not in the mood to take a guess at people I haven't seen in ages Dominic," John muttered as he was helped inside the house and guided towards the couch where the older man helped him sit down so the young boy could rest.

"Thought so, and I'm going to take a guess and guess that you were on your way to the old base?"

John looked at Dominic, the bags under his eyes and the blood and grime covering his body should be enough to scare anyone away. He bit his lip softly and nodded as he stiffed a yawn, being in an unknown place made him put up his guard again. It wasn't like he couldn't trust Dominic, god knows how much he had helped the Brotherhood when they were located here, it was just the fact that he had a hard time trusting unknown places even though he was surrounded by people he could trust.

"You're staying here John, the base is destroyed completely when the Activists raided this town," Dominic informed him before walking in the kitchen. John sighed and placed his head in his hands, leaning with his elbows on his knees even though he was sure he was leaning on one of his wounds and it would only make them worse. Hearing Dominic move around in the kitchen made John smile a little before the young boy decided to lay down on the couch. Resting his eyes for a few seconds couldn't hurt anyone could it? He would leave the house tomorrow morning again for sure, or at least, that was his plan before he fell asleep.

"You're one hell of a kid John Allerdyce," Dominic muttered under his breath as he walked back in the room with a wet cloth and a blanket draped over his arm as he saw John sleeping on the couch.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer : I don't own X-Men**

**Thanks **: _Ratdogtwo_, _PyroWhore_ and _Thillia_ for the reviews on last chapter, hopefully this chapter gets some more reviews, one more chapter after this and the story is finished, next time I'm updating, this story is complete so let's close it off with a nice number of reviews m'kay? You know the drill, leave a review, lighten up my day and make me smile, maybe I'll update sooner then!

* * *

_Last Time_

"You were right, I couldn't handle watching it," Rogue muttered, whipping away some tears from her cheeks as she looked up to her mother who looked rather proud of her.

"You held out longer than others Rogue, I'm proud of you, if I was in your place, I would've ran out of the room long ago."

"Yet, I should keep strong for him, but look at me, look at what I'm doing to myself," Rogue said, hanging her head low.

John sighed and placed his head in his hands, leaning with his elbows on his knees even though he was sure he was leaning on one of his wounds and it would only make them worse. Hearing Dominic move around in the kitchen made John smile a little before the young boy decided to lay down on the couch. Resting his eyes for a few seconds couldn't hurt anyone could it? He would leave the house tomorrow morning again for sure, or at least, that was his plan before he fell asleep.

"You're one hell of a kid John Allerdyce," Dominic muttered under his breath as he walked back in the room with a wet cloth and a blanket draped over his arm as he saw John sleeping on the couch.

* * *

**14.**

"I don't trust it kid," Dominic muttered under his breath as Pyro smiled tired at the man but directed his eyes back on the road flashing away under them after a second. It's been two days, the original plan of John to leave the next morning before Dominic woke up had been sabotaged as the man had waited until he woke up the next morning, already knowing that the boy would've tried to run before he was completely healed.

Naturally, Pyro had complained about it and nagged and even whined about being a burden and not wanting to impose or bring him in more danger but Dominic had just silenced him and forced him to eat the full plate in front of his nose at that moment, claiming that the boy should eat and that he didn't have time to listen to his whining about being in danger.

Surely, the whining had paid off in the end and now Dominic and John were on their way towards the town just outside the forest where the current base was located. Pyro, being loyal to Magneto and still on his guard had told Dominic that he should drop him off just on the outskirts of town and that he would find his way back to the base on his own, yet, Dominic didn't trust this little plan coming from the teenager.

After two days, Pyro was far from healing and his wounds were still bleeding from time to time, thankfully, after being stuffed by Dominic, John had taken the privilege of having a shower and finally getting rid of all the grime and dried up blood covering his limbs while he borrowed some of Dominic's old clothes, well, rather his son's old clothes as the boy had died several years prior during one of the raids on the city by the Activists who thought the boy was a mutant because he was running away from the bullets. A stupid mistake that had hardened Dominic and made him realize that he should be helping the mutants instead of the Activists who did nothing but putting bad thoughts about mutants in the people's heads.

"You're not even completely healed yet, can't I just drop you off in the center of town instead of on the outskirts? That way you won't have to pass through the whole town and risk getting spotted."

Pyro shook his head and made brief eye contact with Dominic who looked worried about the young boy. For the past few days, the man had been glad having some company and had claimed several times that John reminded him of his own son, just as courageous and stubborn.

The older man sighed and ran his fingers through his already gray hair, reminding John of Magneto. The teenager looked out of the window again and thought of the offer Dominic had just presented him, it would be easier for him and his wounded legs but yet, if he accepted it he risked the fact that Dominic might get recognized as he dropped the mutant off in the town center and that would only make John feel guilty.

"Fine, be stubborn then, you're just like Ethan, always thinking of others before yourself," Dominic muttered under his breath as he kept his eyes on the road. John smiled slightly at the mention of the name. Ethan was Dominic's son and over the two days that had passed, John wished he could've met the boy the older man spoke so fond of.

"And your idea of leaving so early while you aren't completely healed yet isn't comforting me either, I mean, look at the state of yourself, you're not really capable of walking long distances right now."

"I'll be fine, I did it before you found me, I'll manage now too," Pyro said, placing his hand on Dominic's shoulder and giving it a small squeeze, assuring the man even though he knew that it didn't help. Dominic grabbed the steering wheel of the car tightly in his hands and nodded, sighing and finally realizing there was no talking with John about changing his mind on this.

"At least you could've let me bandage your wounds," Dominic whispered, pouting a little as John shook his head and sighed at the man. Every time he had tried to look at Pyro's wounds and take care of them, Pyro refused and told him that he would either take care of them himself or let them heal on their own without touching them. The fact that the wounds were infected and that some of them would probably never heal again was forgotten, much to the dismay of Dominic who still grumbled about it every once in a while.

"Alright kid, you're here, now promise me you'll be fine and you'll come to visit me one of these days alright? Just to let me know you're alright."

John didn't reply but looked out of the window and took a breath before he nodded, even though somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he might not be able to fulfill that promise to the older man. Dominic smiled sadly, also knowing this but told himself that the boy would perhaps try to fulfill it even though it would be almost impossible in a time like this.

"Well, off you go," Dominic nodded as he helped John out of the car, much to his protest but he couldn't do much against it as he was to weak to fight back, a glare would have to do but John had soon realized that it didn't help against Dominic, who just smiled arrogant at the young boy whenever he did so.

Walking away, John was still slightly limping. Dominic watched the boy disappear behind the corner and entering the small town before he sighed and got back in his car, driving away and hoping that John would be alright eventually even though he felt guilty about not forcing the boy to change his mind about the dropping point.

Being glad that his clothes covered most of his serious wounds, Pyro limped through the small town and tried to ignore the worried and sometimes even disgusted glances the people shot him. He was tired and still worn out even though he hadn't done anything but sleeping and eating for the two days he had spend with Dominic. Perhaps he could ask Rogue to visit the old man if he wouldn't survive this, she would probably do it too, even if it was just to thank him for taking care of John.

He looked around the town, not much had changed except him. His blond hair was dirty and starting to turn brown for some reason beyond him, of course, it also could be because the blond dye was fading away but that was just a small detail left to be forgotten. He longed for Rogue and hoped that she was at the base and not still in one of the camps being tortured for information.

Sitting down on the pavement in the center of the town, he took some rapid breaths and tried to calm his beating heart as sweat was present on his brow. Walking long distances in a short period of time wasn't exactly good for his body right now, yet, he didn't listen to his body as he stood up again and walked further in a matter of minutes.

He glared at several of the people stopping their walk to watch him limp to the other side of the town and smirked satisfied as he carefully took a step back and walked further, not wanting to get on his bad side. Pyro's brown eyes scanned the people, hoping he wouldn't run in anyone he knew, he wasn't exactly in the best mood for people to recognize him and start to get all happy that he was back, like Quicksilver he thought with a roll of his eyes.

The sight of the forest cheered him up slightly as he touched one of the trees as support while he caught his breath and looked around, trying to decide which was would be the best way (and shortest) to get to the base. Looking over his shoulder to make sure nobody saw him, John stalked into the forest and used his sense of orientation to try and find the base.

He missed his lighter. The sudden thought that he was without a weapon and couldn't even create fire to alert someone of his presence in the forest entered his mind and made him pout. He felt so empty and naked without a lighter in his pocket but he would have to settle with that little fact. Ever since he had escaped, he hadn't really needed it but you could never be sure, he had learned that little detail in the danger room during one of the sessions he shared with Rogue.

Leaning with his shoulder against a shoulder, Pyro ran his hands over his face in attempt to wake himself up again before he took a deep breath and winced as he put too much of his weight on his legs in one time. Sighing, he dragged his tired body through the forest and was relieved to see the base nearing. A smile appeared on his lips and turned into a grin before he leaned against the door of the base and tried to open it but failed miserably.

His body was too weak to push open the metal door at this moment but before he could do anything, the door behind him opened and he fell backwards on the floor, looking up to the ceiling with his mouth slightly open and his eyes widened before his face showed signs of pain as the wounds on his back winced in pain as they connected with the metal floor.

"When Rogue said there was someone at the door and told me to get it, I didn't exactly expect this to happen."

"Just...shut up Quicksilver," Pyro muttered as he rolled over so he could sit on his knees (even though that wasn't one of the smartest ideas of him ever) and then used the door to stand up before he wobbled on his legs slightly and regained his balance.

Quicksilver raised an eyebrow at Pyro and shook his head sadly before he walked over the boy and draped his arm over his shoulder just like Dominic had done when he had found Pyro and helped John as his breathing became irregular and his eyes were forced shut while he bit his lip and tried to block out the pain.

"Come on, let's get you to Mystique tough guy, you need some patching up," Quicksilver muttered, looking at Pyro and the few visible wounds on the boys body. Instead of walking through the hallway with the wounded teenagers leaning on him or even using his power to speed things up (which he decided wouldn't be such a good idea since Pyro had never been fond of it whenever he did that), he decided to walk to one of the communicators on the walls, installed so members could contact others in the rooms too far away from their current location.

"What the hell do you mean by that? You think I can't handle the responsibility to lead a group so we can find him? How did you get that in your head anyway!? I'm perfectly capable of leading a search party!"

"Rogue," Pyro opened his eyes and looked up, struggling to free himself from Quicksilver's grip but failing miserably at that as the mutant just kept on to Pyro and refused to let him go.

"Damn it Quicksilver, let me go, I need to see her," he grunted through his clenched teeth as he glared at Quicksilver who shook his head and still kept holding on to John's waist even though he didn't realize he had shifted his arm right on the wounds.

Pyro struggled to free himself from Quicksilver's grip, small tears appearing in his eyes as the mutant just tightened his grip around his wounds but blinking them away. After a few seconds, Quicksilver sighed and let go of Pyro unexpectedly, making him trip and fall on the floor again.

"I hate _you_," Pyro muttered, using his arms to lift himself up from the floor and after a few seconds managing to sit down on the floor. He held his head in one hand for a few seconds before his head shot up again and he was reminded that Rogue was around.

"Quicksilver, who was at the door?" Rogue poked her head in the hallway and looked at Pietro who was still looking at the little communicator on the wall and wondered how to use it. It was a new feature in the base and he didn't really needed it as he could speed from one side to the other in a matter of seconds so he never learned how to work with it.

"Oh, just Pyro," he muttered as he scratched his head and frowned at the communicator.

"Seriously Pietro, what do you have with letting me fall on the floor!" Pyro asked, using the wall to stand up and not really aware of Rogue entering the hallway with her eyes and mouth wide open at the sight of him.

His short blond hair was now dirty blond and started to show his brown roots more and more as it reached until just above his shoulders, he had shaved though, which relieved Rogue for a small part but she couldn't see his face completely. Before she could say something though, Pyro turned around and faced her. They made brief eye contact before he sighed contently and closed his eyes, falling forward and barely reaching her arms as he finally gave up trying to stay awake.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer : **I don't own X-Men

**Thanks** : _PyroWhore, Thillia, Ratdogtwo, Wanda W, GabrielsDoubt_ and _rinXangelXryro_ for reviewing on last chapter, this is the final chapter of this story -hides for flying objects- this chapter was hard for me to write myself so leave some nice reviews on this latest chapter of the story and let's end this with a nice amount!

also, many thanks to all the other reviewers not mentioned above, you guys made me smile by just leaving a small comment and I thank you all for that from the bottom of my black little heart, I really hope that this chapter will get as many reviews as the last chapter, even though it's the last chapter and you might kill me for even writing it ..

MJLS

* * *

_Last Time_

Before she could say something though, Pyro turned around and faced her. They made brief eye contact before he sighed contently and closed his eyes, falling forward and barely reaching her arms as he finally gave up trying to stay awake.

* * *

**15.**

"Well don't just stand there! Go and get Mystique already!" Rogue glared at Quicksilver who finally managed to get his thoughts back to the present and realized that John was unconscious in Rogue's arms.

Quicksilver opened and closed his mouth several times after each other before he nodded and sped through the hallway towards the medical room where he guess, and hoped, that Mystique was staying. Rogue in the mean time, sat down on the floor with John's head on her lap and whipping away his hair out of his eyes as she looked down at his body. From what she could see, he was covered in bruises and scars from the torture ordeal he went through.

Tears fell down her cheeks as she smiled down sadly at him and bended down so she could give his lips a small kiss, even though she was sure that he wouldn't even realize it. The sound of footsteps and running was soon heard through the hallway but Rogue refused to let go of John, shaking her head and muttering incoherent words under her breath as tears fell down her cheeks.

A hand on her shoulder made her realize that she wasn't alone. She looked up from John's unconscious body and met Mystique's worried eyes before Rogue bit her lip and looked back at John with tears still brimming in the corners of her eyes.

"Come on honey, we got to bring him to the medical bay."

"Will he be alright?"

"First we need to see how badly wounded he is Marie," Mystique said in a low voice filled with sadness and not really wanting to give Rogue the real answer to the question even though the girl was probably aware of the possibility already.

Rogue nodded and let go of John as Gambit picked up John's body bridal style and stalked towards the medical bay while Rogue kept sitting on the floor and hugging herself while tears streamed down her porcelain cheeks. Mystique helped the girl up and lead her towards her room but Rogue shook her head, stopping in the middle of the hallway before she made eye contact with her mother again and Mystique realized that the girl had to be there for John.

"You won't be able to enter the room honey."

"I just want to be around," Rogue whispered, looking down to her bare feet as she had forgotten to put on some slippers or socks before she had gone to the common room of the base, it all seemed so far away right now even though it was barely half an hour ago. Mystique sighed and nodded sadly, putting her arm over her daughter's shoulders before leading her towards the medical room.

"Why don't you go and warn Magneto while we prepare everything? He should know that Pyro is back in the base," Mystique suggested, wanting to keep Rogue away from the medical bay as long as possible.

Rogue looked up from the floor and frowned before biting her lip and nodding, not really wanting to bring the news to the older man but knowing that Mystique meant good by keeping her away from the medical room. Slowly, the girl walked towards the office of Erik with her hands shoved deep in the pockets of her jeans and her head hung low as she refused to meet anyone's eye.

She passed some of the other members of the Brotherhood but didn't talk to them as she finally reached Magneto's office and her hand reached out to knock on the big metal door. Hearing the permission to enter the room, Rogue pushed the door open and entered the room, finally looking up from the floor and her bare feet. Magneto was sitting at his desk, unaware of what had just happened in the base, in front of him were papers that greatly disturbed him as he had a frown placed on his face while his eyes scanned them.

"Sir, we got news."

Normally Rogue wouldn't call Magneto 'sir' but she couldn't help herself this time. She knew pretty well that it was required by the older mutant but John, Mystique and herself had always been the only three that forgot about that little detail and called him Magneto or just Erik when they talked to him. Magneto looked up from his papers and the frown previously on his face disappeared as he showed the girl a warm smile.

It wasn't a secret that Magneto had always been fond of the girl and Pyro, nobody really knew why but many knew that the older mutant was probably more fond of Pyro and Rogue than he was of his own children even though they had joined the Brotherhood before the two teenagers. Of course, Pyro never minded and saw Magneto as a sort of father figure, much to the dismay of Quicksilver who kept seeking for his father's approvement throughout the years.

"Pyro arrived back at the base earlier, he's in the medical bay right now," Rogue said, not breaking eye contact with Magneto even though she was biting her lip to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks as the thought of John unconscious in the medical bay. Magneto frowned at her news and then stood up from his metal chair before stalking over to the girl and pulling her in a hug.

At first, the girl was shocked by the sudden show of affection coming from the older mutant but then smiled sadly and let the tears fall down her cheeks as she buried her head in his chest. The older man stroke her hair and smiled down to the girl in his arms. Not a lot of people were used of seeing this sort of affection coming from Magneto but everyone knew that he had a soft spot for several of the mutants in the base, including Wanda and Pietro even though he'd rather hide that little fact. And it was no secret that Magneto could be a big softie whenever he wanted to be, he could just hide it well.

Stepping back from the hug, Rogue dried her tears and was lead out of the office by Magneto, who carefully placed his hand on her back and practically pushed her towards the other side of the base instead of going towards the medical bay where Pyro was located. Once they reached the kitchen, Rogue frowned as he forced her to sit down and he moved towards the fridge where he got out the milk and then the cupboard where he found the chocolate powder.

"What are you doing?"

"Making tea of course, I had a sudden craving and it'll calm you down and take your mind of things," Magneto said with a smile as he looked at her over his shoulder. Rogue's mouth opened and closed several times before she sighed and shook her head.

"You're hopeless."

"No, I'm taking care of you, there's a difference if you hadn't noticed yet," Magneto shot back, raising an eyebrow at the girl who smiled at him and blushed a little at the fact that he was actually taking the time to make tea for the both of them.

"If I may ask, what were those papers you were reading earlier, you looked rather disturbed by them," Rogue asked, looking up from her hands that were neatly folded in front of her on the table.

"They were papers coming from the Activists who had captured Pyro, they've been on my desk for the past month, apparently they didn't calculate in their minds that our little pyromaniac would escape before we could even talk about the things they were talking about."

Rogue nodded and looked back down to her hands before she was handed a cup of hot tea. She smiled grateful at Erik before he sat down next to her with his own cup of chocolate and looked at her worried. Rogue took a sip from the drink and winced as she hadn't realized that it was hot. Magneto sighed at her and rolled his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. Rogue blushed a little and kept staring at the cup that she carefully placed back on the table.

"Thank you," she silently whispered in the room as silence fell over the two mutants who sat at the metal table with their cups of hot chocolate at their hands before they shared a small smile.

An hour later, Rogue sat in the medical bay right by John's side. Erik had kept her busy in the kitchen with tea and a small chat as Mystique had taken care of the young boy but couldn't keep the girl away from the medical bay any longer after she was done with patching up Pyro. Of course, now Rogue refused to leave John's side, holding his hand and staying by his side.

"Rogue, come on, you need your sleep honey," Mystique had been trying to get Rogue to move away from Pyro's side for the past hour but was still failing miserably at it.

The moment the girl knew that it was safe for her to visit him, she had joined his side and didn't leave or look away from him. Instead, she just whipped away his hair from his eyes, stroke his cheek and occasionally planted a kiss on his lips. He was in an unconscious state right now, barely moving except a twitch from time to time. She had stopped crying long ago but the tearstains were still visible on her cheeks.

She shook her head and held his hand before bending down to give him another kiss. Before she could pull back, Pyro's other hand reached out for her head and pulled her closer in the kiss as he carefully sat up, trying not to wound himself in the process. Rogue pulled back from the kiss with her eyes widened as she looked at him.

Pyro looked better than before, that's for sure, he was cleaned up and his wounds have been taken care off even though Rogue winced in pain as she looked at the many bandages covering his bare chest.

"I'd say listen to your mother Rogue," Pyro muttered as their foreheads touched and he gave her another peck on the lips.

"Did you listen in on the conversation again while you pretended to be unconscious?"

"Maybe," he said with a smirk as they made eye contact.

Rogue sighed and shook her head, not believing him but couldn't help but keep the smile from her lips. He caressed her cheek with his hand and gave her another peck on the lips before deciding to lay down again. Rogue smiled at him and couldn't keep her eyes away from his face as she bit her lip and pressed her lips against his own chapped lips one more time.

"Go to bed sugar, you need the sleep and I do too, don't worry, tomorrow morning, I'm going to sit here wide awake and hope to see you walk through that door and knowing it isn't a dream," Pyro said as he placed his head on the pillow Mystique had brought in in the mean time and whipped away a stray tear from her cheek before pulling her down again for another kiss.

"I give my heart, cause nothing can compare in this world to you," he whispered against her lips as he pulled back from the kiss. Rogue looked at him with tears in her eyes before she nodded, agreeing with what he had just said and giving him another small peck before she was literally pushed out of the room by Mystique, telling her that Rogue would be the first one to know if something happened to him and that the poor guy needed his rest just like she did.

"Rogue, honey wake up," Rogue shot up from the bed and looked around frantically, wanting to know the source of her abrupt waking up. She looked around and saw Mystique hover above her. Rogue's face immediately filled with worry as she threw the thin blankets of her petite body and practically ran out of the room towards the medical bay without Mystique saying a single word. Tears sprang in her eyes as she entered the room where John was resting and he was still asleep.

"He fell in a coma earlier tonight, he won't wake up anymore Cherie," Gambit said as he stood up from Pyro's bedside.

Rogue shook her head and let the tears fall freely over her cheeks as she fell down on her knees and kept her eyes on Pyro's lifeless body. Gambit moved to her side and sank down to her level as he pulled her closer in a hug and rocked her back and forth, stroking her back as she cried. She kept shaking her head and muttering some incoherent words under her breath, as her shoulders shook under her sobbing.

"Remy, leave them alone for now, you can check on her later," Mystique said from behind Rogue. Gambit looked up from Rogue and nodded sadly, giving Rogue a small kiss on her forehead as the girl hugged herself and let the tears fall down her cheeks, keeping her place on the floor before she knew for sure that she was alone in the room with John.

Walking over to him, she grabbed his hand and bended down, giving him a kiss on his lips and hoping that he would wake up again, claiming it was all just a joke to get her down to the medical bay because he missed her. But when she pulled back, he was still in the same position as before, lifeless with his chest rising up and down from his shallow breathing.

"Come on sugar, this isn't funny anymore," Rogue said through gritted teeth as she watched him sleep. The heart monitor attached to his chest and placed carefully next to the bed was making a soft beeping sound that filled the heavy air in the room.

"You said you'd be there for me when I cried John, you said you'd be there in the morning when I woke up, wide awake so you would know it wasn't a dream!"

Rogue fell down on her knees again, not caring on how bad it really was for her knees or the wounds on them for that matter. She hugged herself as she realized that John wasn't coming back to her. She let the tears fall down her cheeks as she heard a loud beep fill the room and no one entered the room, knowing that nothing could be done anymore.

_The end_

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